Shattering the Ice
by Mariel McLeod
Summary: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe retold: two teens are stuck in the middle of the movie with instructions from Aslan on the way
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer

Disclaimer. I do not own Narnia, Aslan, or anything C.S. Lewis created. I can only add. It's his work and I'll try my best to make it worthy of being a fanfic of the Chronicles of Narnia.

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Chapter 1

Plunk! An acorn fell from on oak tree as Justin and Mariel walked through the forest behind Justin's house in North Carolina. The forest was a big one, with a small pond on the other side. Justin and Mariel had been friends for as long as they could remember. Neither could remember a time when he or she did not know the other. Together, they had discovered C.S. Lewis's books of the Chronicles of Narnia, and spent countless hours imagining they lived in Narnia. They could never stop talking about it, in fact, that's the exact subject the 16 year olds were talking about, long ago in 2008. So where do I come in? Yes even the narrators must have some fun with their stories! I am Mariel. Only my 9 friends and I know what really happened in those strange days.

Justin and I never simply "talked" about Narnia. We were always reenacting it, or pretending we were there. Sometimes, we would just walk in the woods and discuss the finer points that we knew that Lewis had to have left out because there was too much in his brain to write it all down at once. Things like Mr. Tumnus's kitchen, and what the land around the stone table really looked like. What kind of weapons did the Narnians and Calormenes have? What did Cair Paravel really look like? But our favorite subject of all was Aslan. That was what Justin and I were talking about so long ago.

"Justin."

"Yeah?"

"What do you think Aslan really looks like?"

"I don't know Mariel, it's not like you can describe what a lion looks like, especially The Lion."

"I guess you're right." I said sadly. "But do you think we'll ever go to Narnia to see Aslan?"

"There are just some things that you can't tell. I know that's what you want more than anything in the world, but I just don't know." As Justin said this, he stopped looking at the trees and looked at me. "Mariel, do you like me?"

I looked at him a bit startled. I hadn't expected that question. "Well, yeah, I mean, you are my best friend."

"Oh." Justin said quietly.

"Oh? What is 'oh' supposed to mean? Did you want me to say something different?" I asked as I laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I guess so." Justin said still quiet. "Mariel, you know how much I like you, but I like you with more than just friendship."

At this I stopped and stared at him in slight confusion. No one had ever said anything like that to me before.

"You see," Justin continued, "Mariel, I… I" All of a sudden, he stopped and looked around. We were no longer in the forest behind his house. We were in another forest, at night and it was snowing! Justin had grabbed my hand as soon as he noticed the change. As we looked around, we saw two people standing by a lamppost looking at us. One was a little girl about 9 years old. The other was only a little taller than her but he was quite different. From his waist up, he was a man, but he had the legs of a goat. Justin gave my hand a squeeze. We both knew exactly where we were. He let go of my hand and walked toward the faun (for that was what he was) and the girl. As I followed him I whispered

"We might want to act like brother sister, just in case."

"Okay." He whispered back. As soon as we were close to the tow people, Justin made a small, courtly bow to them. "Good evening Mr. Tumnus, good evening Lucy." At this, the girl and faun looked at each other with puzzlement. But Justin continued. "I am Justin, and this is Mariel, my twin sister."

I took up the speech from there. "I know it sounds strange, but we've heard of you quiet a bit, so don't be surprised at us knowing who you are."

"Now I'm really confused!" Mr. Tumnus exclaimed. "First I meet a daughter of Eve, who's never heard of Narnia, then I meet a son of Adam and a daughter of Eve who seem to know everything about Narnia. What's next? Flying trees that people can ride? You know I've never met a human before today! I know that Lucy here got in through a wardrobe, but how did you get in?"

"Aslan probably pulled us in." I said.

"Aslan? Is he in your world too? Oh never mind, I was just about to take Lucy back to my cave for tea, would you like to join us?"

"Oh yes please!" both Justin and I said at the same time.

As we walked, Lucy and I had a nice conversation while Justin talked to Tumnus.

"Mariel?" Lucy asked me after we had been silent a while. "You said you came from our world. What part of our world did you come from?"

"Justin and I come from North Carolina in America. This will probably shock you to death, but we're from 2008. We were not alive while the bombs were falling on London."

"What! So who won the war?"

"The allies of course! Other wise, America would be very different. If you're going to ask me if your dad will survive the war, I'm sorry I don't know."

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"Oh. Look, we're here!" Lucy said as we rounded the last bend to Tumnus's house. Tumnus entered last, and I noticed that he looked around, as if to make sure we were not followed before entering the cave. Very quickly, he set out the tea and poured for us all. Once this was done, Justin, fully knowing what would happen next, asked if the faun had a flute of some sort.

"Why yes I do. Would you like to here some music?"

"Oh. Yes please." Lucy said over her tea cup.

"Now, do you know any Narnian lullabies?" Tumnus said as he prepared his flute.

"Sorry, no." Lucy answered.

"I do." I said under my breath.

"What was that?" Tumnus asked.

"Oh nothing. Carry on by all means." I answered. Justin and I looked at each other. We were determined not to fall asleep. As Tumnus started playing, Lucy put her cup in her lap as she listened to the fine tune of the faun's flute. Justin and I did not dare to look at the fire but instead watched the faun. Lucy, however, stared into the fire as it danced to the faun's flute. I did not see what shapes were made in the blaze but I could see the shadows of a bear, centaurs and fauns on the wall. Lucy fell asleep and dropped the cup with a smash. Tumnus continued to play, as if he was confused at why we did not join the younger child in sleep. Suddenly, the flames changed shape. They leapt out of the fireplace and the head of a roaring lion appeared. All the lights went out, and Tumnus stopped playing. He had a scared look in his eyes.

"I have a feeling you know what's going on." Tumnus said as he rose from his seat. Justin and I nodded. He slowly walked over to the steps and sat down. "Then you know what a bad faun I am. Did you know before you came?"

"Yes. We knew." Justin said as he went to sit by Tumnus.

"Then why did you even let Lucy come with me? Any why did you come yourselves? You could have called my bluff any time you wanted. Why didn't you?"

"Because we knew that this would happen, and there was no way we could stop it." Justin said.

"Even more than that." I continued Justin's thought as I went to sit in front of the shaking and now crying faun. "We knew that you would be better from the experience. Wait, Lucy's waking up. You'll have to explain everything to her." I walked over with Justin to the other side of the room to watch.

Lucy got out of the chair and looked out the window. "Oh, I should go."

"It's too late for that now. I'm such a terrible faun." Tumnus was now half lying across the stairs. Lucy went over to him and handed him her handkerchief.

"Oh, no. you're the nicest faun I've ever met."

"Then I'm afraid you've had a very poor sampling." Tumnus said as he wiped his eyes. I looked at Justin but he shook his head. Not yet.

"No. you can't have done anything that bad." Lucy said as she crouched down to look Tumnus in the eye. She had quite forgotten about Justin and me.

"It's not something I have done, Lucy Pevensie. It's something I am doing." He stopped wiping his eyes and looked up at her.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked tentatively. She was becoming frightened.

"I'm kidnapping you." Lucy took a step back at this. Horror was written all over her face. "It was the White Witch. She's the one who makes it always winter, always cold. She gave orders. If any of us ever find a human wandering in the woods, we're supposed to turn it over to her!"

"But, Mr. Tumnus, you wouldn't. I thought you were my friend." Lucy looked imploringly at him as she said this and Tumnus's head jerked up. One look from him told her that he had not expected that.

"Then lets go!" Justin exclaimed as we steeped forward. Lucy looked at us for a second then helped Tumnus to his feet. "Good job Mr. Tumnus. We're proud of you. You told her without any help."

"Yes that's true, but the sooner we get Lucy back to the lamppost the better." I said as I took Lucy's shaking hand. "We don't know if the witch has discovered you or not."

"Waite!" Tumnus put his hand on Justin's shoulder. "You know what will happen don't you?"

"Yes we do." Justin answered for us both.

"Tell me. Please." Tumnus implored.

"We can't. It's not our place." I said as we walked toward the door. "I will tell you this though." Tumnus and Lucy gave me a look that made my heart melt. "Everything will be fine."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next moment, we were carefully running through the snow. It was dark and hard to see, and Lucy kept tripping. Justin and I grabbed her hands and Tumnus took Justin's hand so we would not loose track of each other.

"Now, She may already know you're here. The woods are full of her spies. Even some of the trees are on her side!" Tumnus had a tremor in his voice as he mentioned Her. As we reached the lamppost, Mr. Tumnus stopped and looked at Lucy. "Can you find your way back from here?"

"I think so." Lucy said clutching his hand.

"All right."

"Will you be alright?" Lucy asked. At this Tumnus started to laugh and cry at the same time. "Hey, hey. It's okay."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Here." Tumnus said as he handed Lucy her handkerchief back but Lucy wouldn't let him.

"Keep it. You need it more than I do."

"No matter what happens Lucy Peviensie I am glad to have met you. You've made me feel warmer than I've felt in 100 years. Now go! Go!" Lucy ran off through the wardrobe. Then Tumnus looked at us. "Aren't you going to go with her?"

"No. We can't." Justin said. "We're not from her time. We're much later in history. So unless Aslan calls us back to our own world and time, you're stuck with us."

"But what if the police come for me and you're there? They'll take you too." Tumnus started to walk back toward his cave and we followed him.

"Lucy will come one more time before the police do. You'll see. We'll stay with you till she comes again then we'll go to the Beaver's house. If you're taken then we'll be able to tell Lucy where you are and get her to safety. If that's okay with you that is." I said as we walked.

"I can't argue with you." Tumnus said as he led us back to his house.

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The next day, we made arrangements with the beavers for escape plans. Justin would watch the house from a safe distance and I would run to the beaver's house if anything went wrong. Justin went every day to the lamppost to keep an eye out for Lucy. As the days past, I learned a lot that I had not known before about Mr. Tumnus. He had not wanted to be in the pay of the white witch, he had been forced by the police. Those days, I didn't have much to do except hang around Tumnus's house or go with Justin to wait for Lucy. When we were out, we had to leave before the sun was up and come back only after it was down. We could have been seen easily if we had walked around in broad daylight. Sometimes when we were out waiting for Lucy to return, I would take books from Tumnus's bookshelf. My favorite one was _Is man a myth?_ It gave very strange reasons that the author thought that humans were a myth. Justin particularly enjoyed it. He enjoyed everything in Narnia. It was Narnia, how could we not like it? About a week after Lucy's first visit, Justin and I were sitting in our hideout watching as usual, when I remembered our conversation right before we had come to Narnia.

"Justin. Do you remember our walk in the woods right before we came to Narnia?"

Justin suddenly became nervous. "Well, yeah I do. Why?"

"You were about to tell me something right before we were brought here. What was it?"

"Oh that, I was wondering when you would ask that. You see Mariel, what I was going to tell you was that I," he was cut off by someone running through the woods. We saw a flash of pink and the clunk of boots. We knew that it could not be a Narnian. I ran out of our hide out and took after the person. It was Lucy. I touched her on the shoulder and she spun around.

"Hi Lucy. Welcome back. Sorry for startling you but we've been waiting for you." I said as a slow smile formed on her face. Justin stayed hidden. His job was to see if anyone followed Lucy. I quickly took Lucy to Tumnus's house and Justin waited. He couldn't believe that he'd missed his second chance at telling Mariel.

Just then, a pair of slippers walked past him. Justin stayed hidden but got ready to follow. He knew this job would be dangerous. When he could just barley hear the slippers hitting the snow, he crawled out of the hole and followed, close to the snow. He was wearing white so he blended in quite well. As he flitted from tree to tree, he watched the boy in front of him. He had never met Edmund, Lucy's brother, but Lucy had told him that Edmund was not likely to believe about Narnia. Edmund stopped, he had been calling for Lucy, but now a noise attracted his attention. Justin dived for a hole in the ground near Edmund but the boy did not hear. Only seconds after Justin was hidden, a sleigh pulled up and knocked Edmund over. He tried to run but a dwarf leapt out of the sleigh and threw his whip around the boy's legs and Edmund fell with a thud. The dwarf leapt on his victim and held a knife to his throat. Then the someone spoke from the sleigh.

"What is it now Ginarrbrik?"

"Make him let me go! I didn't do anything wrong!" Edmund shouted from where he lay on the snow.

"How dare you address the Queen of Narnia!" the Dwarf snarled.

"I didn't know!" Edmund protested.

"You shall know her better here after!" the Dwarf said as he raised his knife.

"Wait!" Justin, Edmund and Ginarrbrik looked up and saw the whitest, most beautiful lady they had ever seen. Ginarrbrik let Edmund up and Justin crouched lower in the snow.

"What is your name, son of Adam?" The lady said as Ginarrbrik let Edmund up from the snow.

"Uh, Edmund."

"And how, Edmund, did you come to enter my dominion?"

"I'm not sure; I was just following my sister."

"Sister? How many are you?" the lady asked.

"Four. Lucy's the only one who's been here before. She said she'd met some faun called… Tumnus. Peter and Susan didn't believe her. I didn't either."

"Edmund, you look so cold. Will you come and sit with me?" the Lady said as the motioned for Edmund to follow her. As they sat down on her sleigh, Edmund was offered something to drink and something to eat. He chose Turkish delight. The lady then asked Edmund to bring his family with a promise that he would be a prince when he did and would eat Turkish delight all day if he wished. She then took the Turkish delight and handed it to Ginarrbrik as she ushered Edmund out of her sleigh. As she said good bye, Edmund asked for more Turkish delight, the lady gave a sharp no, then gave some excuse about not spoiling Edmund's appetite. As the sleigh drove away, Justin stepped out of cover as Lucy ran up. They met Edmund at the same time and he looked very confused as Lucy hugged him and Justin gave him a look.

"Edmund? Oh Edmund, you got in too. Isn't wonderful?" Lucy said as she hugged her brother's waist.

"Where have you been? And who is this?" Edmund asked as he disentangled himself from Lucy's hug.

"This is Justin, my friend. His twin sister Mariel is at Mr. Tumnus's house. That's where I've been. He's fine! The white witch hasn't found out anything about my meeting him!"

"The White Witch?" Edmund asked as he eyed Justin.

"She calls herself the queen of Narnia, but she really isn't." Justin said.

"Are you alright? You look awful." Lucy said as she looked her brother in the face.

"Well, what do you expect? It's freezing! How do we get out of here?" Edmund answered as he hugged himself.

"Come on. This way. Good bye Justin!" Lucy said as she took her brother's hand and ran off.

"Bye Lucy!" Justin called back. Then he ran to Tumnus's house.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Okay Mariel, I don't know when the wolves will be here but you can bet it will be soon." Justin said as he burst through the door. "We have to get moving. Mr. Tumnus, thank you for your hospitality but we have to be going. Lucy's brother, Edmund just gave you away to the Witch."

"What!" Tumnus gasped. "He did what? But, what do I do now?"

"Remember that the Lion will save you and stay calm." I answered. "You'll be fine. Trust us. We have to go now. Thank you so much. We'll see you soon." Then we ran out the door, leaving a very shocked Tumnus.

"Waite!" he shouted as we opened the door. "Take this. Please see that Lucy gets it if she comes back." Tumnus handed us Lucy's handkerchief.

"We will. The Lion be with you." Justin said then we took off to the beavers house.

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When Justin and I reached the Beavers house, it had begun to snow again. It was very annoying but at least the snow would cover our tracks. The Beavers welcomed us with open paws and Mr. Beaver took the handkerchief and went back to Tumnus's house to watch for Lucy. Mrs. Beaver made us comfortable that night as we waited for the return of Mr. Beaver. Justin slept on the couch downstairs while I stayed in the guest bedroom up stairs. Yes the beds were small, well everything was, but that was because we were staying with two and a half foot beavers. That night, I was sitting on my bed when I felt my heart jerk. I knew that Tumnus had been captured. I went down and told Justin, and he looked at me like I was crazy.

"I know it sounds weird, but I felt that Tumnus was captured a few minutes ago. I can't explain it, but I just know."

"But how? I know that we both know that Tumnus would be captured but how could you feel it?" He asked me.

"I don't know. I guess it's like when you've been close to someone for a while, you just know when something happens to them."

"But, you didn't know him for more than a few days." Justin reminded me.

"I guess I'll just have to ask Aslan what's going on when we meet him." I suggested, then it hit me. "We're going to meet Aslan!"

"Not necessarily, Mariel. We don't know what his plans are for us, only those in the story."

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that."

The next day, Mr. Beaver returned. He told us that Tumnus had been taken around seven the night before, exactly the time that I had felt he had been taken. Mr. Beaver returned to Tumnus's house to wait for Lucy and her siblings. The wait at the Beavers house was not nearly as interesting as the wait at Tumnus's. Mrs. Beaver liked to talk, but most of it was about fish and Beaver dams. About three days after Tumnus's arrest, we heard Mr. Beaver shouting from outside. Quickly, Justin and I ran down the stairs to the door. As we reached it, the door opened and in walked Mr. and Mrs. Beaver and the four Peviensies's. We knew all of them by sight from the movie.

When he saw us, Peter stopped. He was already a little skittish thanks to everything that had happened that day. When Justin held out his hand, Peter looked at it then took it carefully.

"Hello Peter," Justin said as he shook Peter's hand warmly. "I'm Justin and this is Mariel."

Lucy ran forward and hugged me while her siblings just stared. They were still in shock that this could actually be happening to them. By the time Mrs. Beaver said that dinner was ready, everyone, except Edmund, was at ease.

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"Isn't there anything we can do to help Tumnus?"

Mr. Beaver looked up from his plate. "They'll have taken him to the Witch's house. And you know what they say: there's few who go through them gates that come out again."

Lucy shrunk back at this, but Mrs. Beaver bustled over and laid a plate next to her with the loud exclamation of, "Fish and chips!" then seeing the sad look on the girl's face, she continued. "But there is hope, dear. Lots of hope." She nudged Mr. Beaver and he sprayed his drink all over the table.

"What? Oh yeah, there's a right bit more than hope!" he leaned forward quietly. "Aslan is on the move!"

At this my eyes lit up and I looked at Justin to see that he bore the same expression. When we looked at the Peviensies for their thoughts on the matter, they just looked blank. Then Edmund stepped forward.

"Who's Aslan?"

Mr. Beaver burst into laughter. "Who's Aslan! You cheeky little blighter!" but his wife nudged him and he looked at the four children again. "You really don't know, do you?"

"Well we haven't exactly been here very long!" Peter answered.

"He's only the king of the whole wood, the top geezer… the real king of Narnia!"

Justin and I looked at each other and nodded. We had always wanted to do this speech so we stepped forward.

"He's been away for a long while." I said.

Mr. and Mrs. Beaver looked at each other then at us, obviously confused.

"But he just got back! And he's waiting for you near the Stone Table!" Justin finished.

"He's waiting for us?" Lucy asked, thoroughly confused.

"You're blooming joking!" Mr. Beaver ranted after he got over his shock. "They don't even know about the prophecy!"

"Well then," I said. "Can we tell them?"

Mr. Beaver looked even more surprised than ever. "Wait, you know about it, but they don't?"

"Yes, but it's a long story." Justin answered. "So on with the prophecy?"

Mr. Beaver sighed. "Look… Aslan's return, Tumnus' arrest, the secret police… it's all happening because of you!"

"You're blaming us?" Susan asked.

"No! Not blaming." I corrected. "We're thanking you!"

"You see," said Justin, "There's a Prophecy: 'when Adam's flesh and Adam's bone sits in Cair Paravel in throne the evil time will be over and done."

"You know that doesn't really rhyme." Susan pointed out.

"I know! You're kind of missing the point!" Mr. Beaver said exasperated so I stepped in.

"It has long been foretold that two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve will defeat the White Witch and restore peace to Narnia."

The Peviensies looked at each other. Justin nodded to me, squeezed my hand and left quietly.

"And you think we're the ones?" Peter asked.

"I'm just wondering where we fit into the picture!" I said.

"Oh yeah! I forgot about you." Mr. Beaver said as he clapped a paw to his forehead. "but where's Justin?"

"He'll be back soon." I said. "Don't worry about him." But even as I said this, I was starting to worry.

"Well there's another prophecy for you." I leaned forward eagerly. "Son of Adam, Daughter of Eve; protect the four who defeat the deceived. You will stay or leave at will, but only after your duty is fulfilled."

I sat back in my chair, a little shocked. Justin and I were to be the protectors of the Peviensies!

"While everyone is still wondering things," Peter said. "I'm wondering why you think we're the ones."

"Well you'd better be, because Aslan's already fitting out your army!" Mr. Beaver exclaimed.

"Our army!" Lucy exclaimed, half excited half scared.

Susan looked at Peter. "Mum sent us away so we wouldn't get caught up in a war!"

"I think you've made a mistake. We're not heroes!" Peter pointed out.

"We're from Finchley!" Mr. and Mrs. Beaver looked at each other totally confused, but Susan continued. "Thank you for your hospitality. But we really have to go!"

I sighed. I knew what was coming and I knew I couldn't prevent it.

"But you can't just leave!" Mr. Beaver was starting to freak out.

"He's right." Lucy stepped in. "We have to help Mr. Tumnus."

"It's out of our hands." Peter said as he stood to leave. "I'm sorry but it's time the four of us were getting home. Ed?" Peter turned to his brother, but he wasn't there. He turned back to the rest of us. "I'm going to kill him."

"You may not have to…" I said. "Edmund has been in Narnia before."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Edmund!" Justin shouted as he raced through the deep snow after the young boy. Doggedly, Ed kept running. When Justin finally caught him, both were breathing hard.

"I'm not going back!" Ed shouted as he tried to keep moving.

"I'm not going to try to stop you. I know I can't." Justin said as he followed. "So I want to come with you. Be there if you need help, that kind of thing."

"Fine, but hurry up. If the others find out I'm gone, they'll be on my trail pretty quick."

With that, they both took off for the witch's castle, Justin desperately hoping that he had done the right thing by turning himself in. But not just to any one, to the White Witch!

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"He's gone where?!"

"Calm down Peter, you can't stop him!" I said as I tried to restrain the seventeen year old from taking off out the door. But it was useless. Peter broke free of my grasp and took off. Before I dashed after him I turned to the beavers and the other two Peviensies. "Get ready to go to Aslan's camp. I'll try to get Peter, if we don't get back in two hours, then go on without us. We'll be fine."

As the door slammed behind me, Mr. Beaver turned to his wife. "How does she know so much? And where did her brother go?"

"Your guess is as good as mine!" she said and shrugged. "But while we're waiting for them, we can get everything we'll need!"

"Oh no." Mr. Beaver groaned. "This could take a while."

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"Edmund!" Peter yelled as we reached the witch's castle. We could dimly see two figures passing into the gates.

"Hush! They'll hear ya!" I said before he could shout anything else. Almost before I could think, Peter started to run toward the castle. "No!" I shouted.

"Get off me!" Peter said as I grabbed him.

"You can't go after him! You're giving her just what she wants!"

"I can't just let him go! He's my brother!"

"He's the bait! The Witch wants all four of you!" I tried to explain why his going into the castle would be disastrous.

"Why?" Peter nearly shouted in frustration.

"To stop the prophecy from coming true! To kill you!" Peter looked shocked. But I continued. "Only Aslan can help your brother now."

"Then take me to him." Peter said in resignation.

"Then hurry, the wolves will be on our trail soon. We have to get back before the Beavers and the rest of your family leave with out us."

"Wait, Mariel." Peter said as we started back. "How do you know all this?"

"I can't tell you, at least not now." I answered and started to run. My heart was pounding. I had left my best friend walking into our worst enemy's hands. What was worse was that he had left me so he could follow a traitor.

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Justin turned just before the gates shut. To his horror, he saw me and Peter standing on the other side of the frozen lake. He turned back to Edmund, just as he looked up into the face of a stone giant. They jumped then realized that it was just a statue and kept walking. Justin shuddered knowing what other horrors the witch could do. Just before they reached the steps, a huge wolf jumped up and flattened them both. One paw on each of their chests.

"Be still strangers or you'll never move again! Who are you?" the wolf asked.

"I'm Edmund! This is Justin. I met the queen in the woods! She told me to come back here! We're Sons of Adam!"

The wolf got off them and let them stand up. "My apologies, fortunate favorites of the queen. Or else, not so fortunate. Right this way."

When they reached the throne room, the wolf left them waiting at the foot of the stairs that led to the witch's ice throne. "Wait here." He said before stalking away.

As soon as he was gone, Ed started up the stairs toward the throne. "Ed! What do you think you're doing?" Justin whispered sharply to the younger boy.

"Just trying it out!" Ed answered simply, sitting on the rich fur covered throne. But before either one knew it, the White Witch had walked up and touched the side of the throne.

"Like it?"

Ed jumped up, scared to death. "Yes… Your Majesty!"

The Witch glared at him before taking her seat. "I thought you might. Now who is this? Is this your brother?"

"No Your Majesty, this is my friend, Justin. He specially requested that he come to meet you."

The Witch looked a little startled at this but soon regained her cold stance. "Tell me, Edmund… are your sisters deaf?"

"Um no." Ed said confused.

"And your brother. Is he…unintelligent?" The Witch asked.

"Well I think so, but Mum says..." Ed started but the Witch cut him off.

"Then how DARE you come with only your friend! … Edmund, I ask so little of you."

"They just don't listen to me!" Edmund protested.

"Couldn't even do that!" The Witch continued to accuse the boy who was already half scared out of his mind.

"I...I did bring them halfway. They're in the little house on the dam with the Beavers!" Edmund finally blurted out. Justin let out a sigh of exasperation.

"Well...I guess you're not a total lost than." The Witch said as she took her seat again. Then she turned to Justin. "So, Justin, what business do you have at my castle?"

"I just came to keep Edmund company. It can get pretty dangerous out there." Justin said, hoping that he had said the right thing. Why oh why didn't he just stay with Mariel and the others?

"You may find that it can be dangerous anywhere, with or without company." The Witch said coldly.

"I was wondering… Could I maybe have some more Turkish Delight now?" The Witch's head snapped back in Ed's direction. She looked at him a moment before calling for Ginnarbrick.

"Our guest is hungry. And take the other with you as well; it might do him some good."

Justin groaned. The Dwarf stepped forward and drew his knife. "This way...for your num nums!" As he started to march Justin and Ed off to the dungeon, they heard the Witch behind them calling to the Wolf.

"Maugrim! You know what to do."

Justin and Ed watched in horrid fascination as Maugrim let out a howl and the rest of the wolves entered the throne room. To both boys' horror, the wolves took off at a run toward the castle gates. They both knew where they were going; to the Beaver's house.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Peter and I burst through the Beaver's door seconds after we heard the wolf howls. The Beavers and the girls looked up worriedly. Since Peter was in a daze, I started giving out orders.

"We need to go now; we heard wolves just before we came in."

"Wolves?" Mrs. Beaver gasped. "The secret police."

"If they are the secret police, then all the more reason for us to be going!" Mr. Beaver said and shoved his wife toward the trap door to the tunnel. I grabbed a torch and followed, pulling Lucy, Susan and Peter behind me.

We ran through the tunnel, stumbling here and there thanks to the tree roots, but finally we made it back out into the night air. The wolf howls were getting louder all the time so we grabbed a barrel of something and stuffed it in the tunnel entrance. Then we turned and saw that Lucy had fallen over some small stone statues. Mr. Beaver's face fell. I could tell that these animals had once been his friends. He walked up to a badger and touched its stone paw. Mrs. Beaver placed a paw on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry dear."

"He was my best mate." Br. Beaver said as he looked into the stone eyes of his friend.

Peter had been looking confused and slightly angry over Edmund and Justin, but now his anger was plain to see.

"What happened here?" He asked.

"This is what becomes of those who cross the Witch." Said a voice above us.

We jumped and looked up. We were staring into the face of a fox. Mr. Beaver fumed and started toward the fox.

"Take one more step traitor, and I'll chew ya to splinters!"

"Relax!" The fox said, jumping down. "I'm one of the good guys."

"Yeah?" said Mr. Beaver, not convinced. "Well you look awful lot like one of the bad ones."

The fox sighed.

"An unfortunate family resemblance, but we can argue breeding later. Right now we've got to move."

"What did you have in mind?" Peter asked. The fox just smiled, so I decided to hurry up the process a little.

"Could you hurry please? You know, those wolves are going to come through any minute!"

"Go up." Was all the fox said, but I understood. I grabbed Lucy and between us, Peter and I lifted her up into a tree. We gave Susan and the Beavers a hand as well before climbing after them. We were only just barely settled when the Wolves broke through. The fox was still cleaning up our tracks when the wolves circled him.

He smiled up at the big grey beasts. "Greetings, gents. Lost something have we?"

Maugrim growled at him. "Don't patronize me! I know where your allegiance lies. We are looking for some humans."

The fox looked startled, then laughed. "Humans? Here in Narnia? Well, that's a valuable bit of information, don't you think?"

One of the bigger wolves grabbed the fox in his jaws and held him before Maugrim. Mrs. Beaver and Lucy almost screamed, but we stopped them in time. I hate to think what would have happened if the wolves had discovered us. Especial without a weapon.

Maugrim nodded understandingly to the fox. "Your reward is your life. It's not much. … But still, where are the fugitives?"

The fox paused. I saw Lucy's and Susan's mouth hanging open. Disbelief showed in Peter's eyes. This fox was willing to die to keep us safe, but would he have to?

Finally, the fox sighed and pointed to the North. "North… they ran north." He sighed and dropped his head as if he had just betrayed us.

Maugrim nodded to the big wolf who was holding the fox. "Smell them out!" the wolf tossed the fox aside and took off with the rest of the pack. The fox stayed still where he had been thrown.

Peter and I helped the girls and the Beavers down, then we ran to the fox. He was still alive, but he was a little shaken. Peter and I built a small fire and we all gathered around it. As Mrs. Beaver patched him up, the fox told his story.

"Your friends were helping Tumnus and the Witch got here before I did. OW!"

"Are you alright?" Lucy asked.

The fox winced. "Well, I wish I could say their bark was worse than their bite… ohh!"

"Stop squirming!" Mrs. Beaver fussed. "You're worse than beaver on bath day."

I nodded and looked at Mr. Beaver. "Worst day of the year?"

"Yes." Mr. Beaver nodded sadly. Susan rolled her eyes but Lucy laughed. I looked at Peter for a third opinion and to my surprise, he had a slightly startled look on his face.

"Don't worry Peter." I said and patted his shoulder. "Justin and I consider bath day to be a good day, and it does happen 7 days a week."

Peter sighed in relief.

The fox stood up. "Thank you for your kindness but I'm afraid that is all the cure I have time for."

Lucy looked up from her snack. "You're leaving?"

The Fox bowed. "It has been a pleasure, my Queen, and an honor. But, the time is short and Aslan himself has sent me to gather more troops."

"You've seen Aslan?!" I asked. It was all I'd ever wanted! Just to see Him.

"What's he like?" Mrs. Beaver asked.

A reverent glow came over the fox's face. "Like everything we've ever heard. You'll be glad to have Him by your side in the battle against the Witch."

Susan looked up. "But we're not planning fighting any Witch…"

"But, surely, King Peter… The prophecy." The fox said hopefully.

"We can't go to war without you." I said.

"We?" Peter asked. "Who's the we? You've only been in the country the same amount of time as we have! How do you know so much about Narnia? It's like you and your brother know everything, but you won't tell any of us what's going on! Now I think it's time you spelled out the truth. Who are you?"

I sighed. I was hopping it wouldn't come to this. "I am Mariel. That's all. Justin is Justin. We are human just like you. The truth is that we are not brother sister. We just told you that because we didn't want you to get any other ideas about us. We've heard about Narnia our entire lives, and we've always dreamed of coming here. Now that we're here, we know what's going to happen to you, but we can't tell you because it might change your decisions. The truth is, that we don't have a clue what we're here for, and we don't know what's going to happen to us! That's why I'm so worried about Justin. If he is caught with Ed, she'll keep Ed alive for bait, but who knows what she'll do to Justin!"

My speech finished, I slumped against the tree and cried. I missed Justin so much. I could only hope that he was safe. The next thing I knew, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and was surprised to see Peter. He wiped away my tears and sat down beside me.

"I understand." He said.

"I know." I answered.

"I need to have an answer for Aslan if I return before you do." The fox said out of the blue.

Peter and I looked at each other. Then Peter spoke for us both.

"We just want our brothers back."

"Brothers?" I asked.

"If Justin is a brother to you, and you want people to take you for brother sister, then that's how we'll treat you. And since we're all in the same boat, we'd like to accept you both into our family." Lucy and Susan smiled and nodded. I nodded back and suddenly I was nearly crushed by hugs from the girls. Once I broke free, I turned to the down cast fox.

"If Justin returns safely, I swear that I will help in what ever way I can."

The fox brightened at this. He bowed and leapt off into the darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

There was to be no sleep for us either. We marched through the woods toward the Great River. We made good time and just before dawn, the Beavers let us sleep a little, but it felt like only a few seconds when Mrs. Beaver shook me awake. My thoughts turned to Justin and Ed. How were they doing in the Witch's castle. I had no doubt that Ed was probably in the dungeon by now, but where was Justin?

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Ed sat alone in the dark dungeon of the Witch's castle. Since the castle was made of ice, it was no surprise to Ed that the dungeon followed suit. He sat huddled in a corner, trying to keep warm, but with little success. He looked to the food beside him for comfort, but when he tasted it, it nearly choked him. He reached for the cup, but it was solid ice. He sighed, but then he heard a voice.

"If you're not going to eat that…"

Ed looked up and to his surprise, he saw a faun in the next cell. Slowly, Ed reached over and handed the faun his bread. The faun tore hungrily at the bread.

"I'd get up, but… my legs."

Ed looked at him closer. "Mr… Tumnus."

The faun sighed. "What's left of him." But then he stopped and took a closer look at Ed. "You're Lucy Pevensie's brother."

Ed nodded. "I'm Edmund."

Tumnus smiled. "You have the same nose. Is your sister alright? Is she safe?"

"I don't know." Ed said, worried.

"What about the other two. Justin and Mariel?" Tumnus asked.

"I don't know about Mariel, but Justin is in here somewhere."

"What?!" Tumnus asked. "He's here? Where?"

"I think the dwarf said something about questioning." Ed said, very discouraged.

Tumnus groaned. "If he's in questioning, he will probably never make it out alive."

Ed's eyes got big as he stared at the faun. A tear rolled down his cheek as he realized what he had done.

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Justin was chained to the icy floor in one of the "questioning chambers" which could have been equally named the death by request chamber. Unfortunately for him, Justin had been assigned to Ginabrick. The dwarf was a master at making people talk, always the hard way. Justin had been stripped of his coat, shirt, boots and his pants had been torn off a little above the knees and he was now chained spread-eagled, face down on the ice. Ginabrick stood over him and wielded a whip. Justin's back was already bloody from the "before questioning beating" that he had received. He gritted his teeth as the little dwarf swung again. Crack! Justin winced, but still said nothing.

"I'm not going to ask again, human! Where are the others headed?"

"And I'm not going to tell you again, dwarf! You wouldn't be able to catch them even if you had started last week."

Crack! Justin winced again, but there was no way he was going to give up his friends, especially Mariel. To his horror, the edge of a white dress came into view from where he was laying. The Witch looked at Ginabrick.

"Nothing?"

"Nay Majesty." Ginabrick bowed. "He has said nothing of use to us."

"Ginabrick, I'm afraid that you're not doing your job well. I think we may have to take slightly more drastic action." She leaned down and looked at Justin. "You really want to tell me all you know before I release my dwarf on you. You are worth nothing to me. The only ones that matter are the four siblings." Still Justin said nothing. The Witch smiled. "I see that you're going to provide me with some fun! Ginabrick, turn him over."

Ginabrick smiled and signaled to four of the guards. They cruelly tore up the spikes from the ice and held Justin up like a stretched sheet. After they tugged a little, the flipped and dropped him. Justin landed on his back with a stifled cry of pain. The deep cuts on his back did not much like the freezing cold ice that he was laying on. He groaned and tried to turn back over, but the guards simply picked him up and slammed him back on the ice, face up. Swiftly, they pulled Justin spread eagled again and, even tighter than before, they nailed the iron spikes back into the ice.

Justin was loosing blood and he was half frozen to death. He knew that he could not hold out much longer. He began breathing fast, not knowing what was going to happen to him now. The Witch smiled at his terror. Then she nodded to Ginabrick.

To Justin's utter and complete horror, Ginabrick raised the whip again. The dwarf was going to strike at his bare chest! He breathed harder as he watched the whip go up, life shifted to slow motion. As the whip reached its peak, Justin breathed harder. He thought of Mariel and all the things he should have told her. He grimaced as he thought of what could have happened if he had not come and she had followed Ed instead. She would likely have been in this position. Justin thought of Ed, and Peter, Susan and Lucy. And just before the whip hit, he thought of Aslan. He was going to die for Aslan! The whip came closer. Suddenly, he decided that he would be proud of his fate. Justin breathed harder, but this time, it was in pride for his King.

Rip! The whip ripped into Justin's chest, then with even more force, it was ripped out again. Justin cried out then looked up at the dwarf who was grinning in satisfaction. Justin smiled back through gritted teeth.

"Is that the best you can do, dwarf? I had thought that you would have done better than that!"

Ginabrick gaped. His prisoner was mocking him! In rage, he raised his whip again. The blow came faster this time, and much harder. Justin really cried out in pain this time. As the dwarf raised the whip a third time, Justin looked at the Witch.

"You may want to stop him." Justin said through gritted teeth.

"And why would I want to do that?" The Witch asked.

"Because of the prophesy." Justin said simply.

The Witch stopped Ginabrick from letting the blow fall. "What prophesy?"

"The one about me and my sister." Justin said, still through gritted teeth. He was loosing a lot of blood, and he would soon pass out from the pain. "You see, we are special. There is a prophecy about us. That if you kill one of us at a time, you will be destroyed only seconds later. To kill us off without endangering your rule, you must kill us at the same time."

The Witch looked at Ginabrick. "Is this true?"

"If he is who he says he is, Majesty." The dwarf replied.

"Then we'd best not kill him… yet." The Witch said. "Guard, tie up his wounds and return his shirt, but cut his right hand, so he will never be a threat to us in battle. Bandage that too, but make sure it leaves him a reminder. When you have finished, report back to me."

The guard bowed and started ripping Justin off the ice. The shock of the beating that he had just endured and the cold was almost more than Justin could endure. He sighed in relief that he was not to be killed. But then he saw the guard draw his knife. With no kindness in his face or emotion, he ripped the top of Justin's right hand open. From the knuckles to the elbow, the knife cut, but not too deep. When this pain racked his frame, Justin stopped his out cry and then fell unconscious.

When he woke up, Justin was again chained to the floor, but at least he was not spread eagled. His back and chest were poorly bandaged as was his hand, but at least he had his shirt back. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. Justin sighed as the first thing he saw was a white dress. He looked up at the Witch and she smiled coldly.

"Ready to go?" She asked.

"Where to?" Justin asked.

"To join your friend." The ice Witch answered. "If you won't talk, them maybe he will."

Justin sighed and nodded. He was ready to go. Two guards grabbed him and wrenched him off the floor. Justin was not able to walk so he was carried by the guards all the way back to the dungeon. The Witch made here entrance first. She swung the doors of Ed's cell open and Justin was dragged in.

"We have returned your friend." The Witch said coldly. "My Police tore that dam apart. Your little family are nowhere to be found."

"What about the other one, a girl?" Justin asked desperately.

"Her? Your sister, right? Not a sign of her either." She reached for Ed and lifted him off the floor, chains and all. "Where did they go?"

Edmund stuttered. "I, I don't know."

The Witch dropped him. "Then you are of no further use to me." She said and raised her wand to strike.

Ed was terrified and burst out, "Wait! The beaver said something about Aslan!"

The Witch lowered her wand. "Aslan? … Where?"

Tumnus attempted to come to the rescue, "He's only a stranger here, Your Majesty. He can't be expected to know anything!"

The Witch nodded to Ginarrbrick and he knocked Tumnus back with his ax butt.

"I said, where is Aslan?" The Witch asked again. Tumnus and Justin looked imploringly at Ed, hoping he would not say anything else to give their friends and his family away.

"I, I don't know. I left before they said anything… I wanted to see you!" Ed tried to say.

"Guard!" The Witch called.

"Your Majesty?"

"Release the Faun." The Witch ordered. Tumnus's chains were broken and he was dragged to the Witch. "Do you know why you're here, faun?"

"Because I believe in a free Narnia." Tumnus answered.

The Witch smiled coldly at him. "You're here, because he turned you in… for sweeties." The Witch pointed at Ed with her wand. Ed looked startled and Tumnus gave him an unbelieving look before the Witch continued with her orders. "Take him upstairs… and ready my sleigh. Edmund and Justin miss their families."

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I woke with a start. Lucy was shaking me. I must have fallen asleep again, but the dream had seemed so real! It was as if I was with Justin in the Witch's castle. I had witnessed it all, the beating, the threatening, the near death experience of my best friend. I shook with horror at what I had witnessed. Lucy sat down beside me.

"What's wrong, Mariel?"

I shook for a few more moments before I answered. "Something terrible has happened to Justin."

Lucy looked at me franticly. "He's not dead is he?"

"No, not yet. But it was close. We have to get to Aslan as soon as possible. I fear that if we take to long, Justin will not survive."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Once the Witch, guards and Ginarrbrick had left with Tumnus, Justin looked at Ed.

"You faired worse than I did, and you had nothing happen to you."

"Are you kidding? Nothing happened? My life was just threatened and I found out that I betrayed my little sister's friend! How could that be nothing?"

"Because you haven't seen what they did to me yet." Justin said and winced from where he was lying on the ice.

"What did they do to you?" Ed asked, concerned.

"You can find out while you help me re-wrap these bandages. Orges aren't really good at that sort of thing. Could you help me sit up and get my shirt off? It's a little difficult."

Ed helped Justin to sit up and take his shirt off. What Ed saw almost made him faint. Blood was coming through the bandage from front and back.

"What did they do to you?" Ed asked, almost afraid to look.

"They had me spread eagled and whipped me face down and face up. I was fortunate I thought of something to say to stop them. One or two more strokes of that whip and I would have been a goner."

Ed gasped. "How could someone do something like this to a living being?"

"They are evil, Ed. Pure evil." Justin said as he tried to unwind the bandage. As Ed helped him, Justin got to see, not only feel how bad it was.

After rewrapping his back and chest carefully, Justin pulled his shirt back on and started tugging at the bandage on his hand. Ed noticed his trouble and helped. When Ed finished unwrapping the arm, he had to turn away. Justin's right arm was slit from the knuckles to the elbow. Once he had regained his stomach, Ed rewrapped Justin's arm. Just as they finished, Ginnabrick and some of the guards came down and pushed Ed, carried Justin up the stairs and out the door to the courtyard.

Ed stopped when he saw the sleigh. He looked to his left and to his horror, there stood Tumnus, but no longer the living breathing Tumnus. This one was a statue. Ed's attention was distracted by the Witch from her sleigh.

"When you're ready, sons of Adam."

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Meanwhile, I, with my new found family were trekking through snow over top of a frozen lake. Susan and I looked at each other. I pushed my long red hair back and shivered a little. She nodded. We were cold, but hot at the same time, and extremely tired. We had been walking all day with almost no sleep the night before. I was still badly shaken by the dream about Justin. As we four humans lagged behind our guides, Mr. Beaver called back to us.

"Come on, humans, while we're still young."

Peter sighed and picked up Lucy for a piggy back ride. "If he tells me to hurry up one more time, I'm going to turn him into a big fluffy hat."

Susan, Lucy and I laughed. But Mr. Beaver called again.

"Hurry up!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "He is getting a little bossy."

Then we heard what we had been dreading ever since we have left the beaver's house. Bells. The warning came from Mr. Beaver.

"It's the Witch!"

Peter immediately put Lucy down, grabbed her hand and shouted. "Run!"

So we ran. The adrenalin was pumping in our vanes as we ran for our lives. Several times Lucy almost fell, but I backed up and grabbed her other hand. Together, Peter and I pulled her through the snow. Suddenly, we were in the woods. Mr. Beaver shouted and shoved us into a small cave that faced the direction that we were running. We all huddled in, quite as possible, and waited. We heard footsteps and a shadow appeared on the bank in front of us. But then it walked away. After a few seconds, Lucy asked.

"Maybe she's gone."

Peter started to get up. "I suppose I'll go and have a look."

But Mr. Beaver stopped him. "No, you're worth nothing to Narnia dead."

Mrs. Beaver laid a paw on her husband's shoulder. "But neither are you, Beaver."

"Thanks sweetheart." Then Mr. Beaver was gone. We held our breath. The wait seemed like hours, but finally, Mr. Beavers head popped over the top of the cave, making us jump.

"Come out! I hope you've all been good, because there is someone here to see ya!"

We all crawled out of the cave and Peter led us up onto the bank. To our great delight, there stood Father Christmas! Lucy left Peter's side and walked forward.

"Merry Christmas, Sir!"

The jolly man smiled. "It certainly is, Lucy… since you have arrived."

Susan looked at Peter. "Look, I've put up with a lot since we got here. But this…"

"What's the matter Susan? Not a good enough surprise for you?" I asked and laughed.

Peter interrupted her answer. "We thought you were the Witch."

Father Christmas nodded and looked at his sleigh. "Yes, sorry about that. But, in my defense, I have been driving one of these longer than the Witch."

"I thought there was no Christmas in Narnia." Susan said.

"Not for a long time." Answered Father Christmas. "But the hope you have brought, your Majesties, and guardian, is finally starting to weaken the Witch's power. Still, I dare say you could do with these!"

With that he pulled out his budging bag. The joy on Lucy's face was incredible.

"Presents!"

Father Christmas laughed and reached in his bag and pulled out a crystal bottle.

"Lucy, the juice of the fire flower. One drop will cure any injury. And though I hope you never have to use it…"

He handed her a dagger.

Lucy nodded. "Thank you, sir. But I think… I could be brave enough."

Father Christmas laughed. "I'm sure you could. But battles are ugly affairs." Father Christmas turned to Susan. "Susan, trust in this bow and it will not easily miss." He handed her a beautiful white short bow and quiver.

"What happened to, 'battles are ugly affairs?" She asked.

The jolly man laughed and handed her a matching horn. "And, though you don't seem to have trouble making yourself heard… Blow on this, and wherever you are, help will come."

Susan took the horn and smiled. "Thanks."

"Peter. The time to use these may be near at hand." With this, Father Christmas handed Peter a beautiful sword and shield with a red lion embossed on the front. The hilt of the sword was also a lion's head. On the sheath was written, Rhindon.

Peter drew the sword. "Thank you, sir."

Then to my surprise, Father Christmas turned to Lucy again.

"Lucy. I am putting you in charge of your brother's gift. If he ever makes it back to you, give this to him." He handed her a sword a little smaller than Peter's and a golden lion broach. The sheath said Shafelm.

Lucy smiled through tears. "I'll keep it safe."

Then with a sad smile, Father Christmas turned to me.

"Mariel. You will be in need of these before much longer. Use them well." With that, he handed me a long red bow, a silver quiver and two long knives. "You are a good shot already, are you not?"

"Yes sir. At least, that's what my friends tell me." I said as I took my weapons. "Thank you." I looked closer at the sheaths of my blades. They said Beauty and Love.

"I am also putting you in charge of Justin's gifts. He deserved to be here, and he will be rewarded for his service and loyalty to the Lion." Father Christmas handed me two long swords, both silver with red hilts and golden lion's heads. On the sheaths were written, Freedom on one, and Strength on the other. "Keep them for the one you cherish."

Father Christmas's words startled me. The one I cherish? How could he know that? But what I felt didn't matter. As far as I knew, Justin did not cherish me. We were only good friends.

"But sir, how do you know I cherish him?"

"Because, Aslan told me." He answered. Then he looked at us all. "These are tools… not toys. Bare them well and wisely. Now, I best be off. Winter is almost over and thing do pile up when you've been gone a hundred years!... Long live Aslan! And Merry Christmas!" He climbed into his sleigh and drove off with us calling Merry Christmas after him.

Lucy looked at Susan. "Told you he was real." Susan rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, Peter looked up. "He said… winter is almost over. You know what that means…"

"No more ice!" I finished. I strapped on my knives and quiver, lashed Justin's swords on my back, and helped everyone else put on their weapons before we charged off toward the river.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

We reached the river just as the ice started breaking up. Peter started to look frantic.

"We need to cross now!"

Lucy looked at Mr. Beaver. "Don't beavers make dams?"

"I'm not that fast, dear!"

We were about to start down the cliff when Susan stopped us. "Wait, just think about this for a minute."

"We don't have a minute." I said.

"I'm just trying to be realistic." Susan answered.

Peter looked at her. "No you're trying to be smart… as usual!"

We started down the hill to the river, but Susan stayed until she heard the wolf howl. Then she followed us fast.

When we reached the bottom, Peter started to step out onto the ice, but the ice broke and he jumped back quickly.

"Maybe Mr. Beaver should go first." I suggested. Peter nodded.

"Maybe he should."

So Mr. Beaver started out onto the ice, slapping his tail down and checking it out as he went. Slowly we followed him. Suddenly, Mr. Beaver cracked the ice a little. Mrs. Beaver looked accusingly at him.

"You've been sneaking second helpings haven't you?"

"Well you never know what meal is gonna be your last, especially with you cooking!" Beaver retorted.

Susan slipped a little and looked at Peter. "If Mum knew what we were doing…"

Peter glared back at her. "Mum's not here!"

Suddenly, Lucy looked up and to her horror, wolves were running across the top of the waterfall.

"Oh no!"

Peter and I looked up. "Run!" we shouted together.

But the wolves beat us to the other side. Mr. Beaver tried to ward them off, but he was no match for the big wolf that held him down. Peter drew his sword and pointed it straight at Maugrim who was coming toward us.

"Put that down, boy. Someone could get hurt." The wolf said to Peter. I looked at Peter, shook my head and drew my knives.

Mr. Beaver was pinned, but he wasn't muzzled. "Don't worry about me! Run him through!"

Maugrim ignored the Beaver. "Leave now while you can, and your brothers leave with you."

Susan grabbed Peter's arm. "Stop Peter, maybe we should listen to him!"

Maugrim chuckled. "Smart girl.

Mr. Beaver objected. "Don't listen to him! Kill him! Kill him now!" I nodded in agreement and looked at Peter.

"Kill him Peter, if you don't now, you'll have to face him again later."

But Maugrim butted in on my advice. "Come on, this isn't your war. All my queen wants is for you to take your family and friends and go."

Susan was still shouting at Peter. "Look, just because some man in a red coat hands you a sword, it doesn't make you a hero! Just drop it!"

"No Peter! Narnia needs you! Gut him while you still have a chance!" Mr. Beaver shouted.

"What's it gonna be Son of Adam?" Maugrim asked. "I won't wait forever. And neither will the river!"

Lucy looked up at the waterfall. "Peter!" We all looked up, and the ice started coming down. Peter looked around franticly. I looked him square in the eye.

"The ice, Peter."

Peter understood. He grabbed his sword with two hands. "Hold on to me!" and jammed it down into the ice. I followed suit with my knives.

The next thing I knew, a wall of water and ice swept over me. I went under for a moment, but when I surfaced, Peter and the others were far ahead of me. I was on a totally different block of ice! I suddenly understood what was happening.

"Peter!" Peter turned and looked at me. "Don't look for me. Get to Aslan as fast as you can! Justin and Ed's lives depend on it!" I shouted ahead as the water rushed by. I saw Lucy look back at me, eyes wide. At least they had heard me. To my horror, Lucy disappeared under the water. I watched as she struggled to shore and landed a few yards away from here siblings. But I wasn't getting any where near land. Then to my alarm, my knives came out of the ice block. The ice was melting and my knives would no longer hold on. I pulled them completely out of the ice and sheathed them, but before I could grab onto the ice block again, I slipped off into the rushing water.

I fought the current for as long as I could, trying desperately to get to land. Any land. But just as I thought I was going to make it, a block of ice smashed into the back of my head, and everything went dark.

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Peter, Susan and the Beavers climbed out onto the bank. Susan turned to see Peter holding Lucy's fur coat. She gapped at him.

"What have you done?!..." Peter looked at the coat in disbelief. Susan looked around franticly. "Lucy! Lucy!"

From down stream, Lucy asked. "Has anyone seen my coat?"

Peter and Susan sighed in relief, and Peter gave Lucy her coat back.

Mr. Beaver laughed. "Don't worry dear, your brother has you well looked after."

Then Peter looked up. "Mariel!"

Susan gasped. They all ran to the river, hoping for a sight of me, but just after Lucy pointed me out, the ice smashed into the back of my head. Peter almost dove in after me, but Lucy stopped him.

"She said not to. If we don't get to Aslan, Ed and Justin will be goners. She'll make it, Peter."

Peter looked sadly after me as I floated down the river, unconscious. Unhappily, they walked away from the river toward Aslan's camp, which was only a few miles away.

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When I woke up, I was laying on the bank of the river. I slowly sat up, my head pounding. I looked around, and to my delight, I saw that I had ended up on the right side of the river. But then my delight faded as I heard soft footsteps coming toward me. I turned slowly and ducked just in time as a wolf soared over my head. I reached for my knives and, fortunately, they were still there. Though I was exhausted, my adrenaline was pounding. I was faced by six wolves. All a little wet and bedraggled, but still angry enough to do some serious damage.

As I faced them, they began to circle me. I knew that I could not protect my back, so I charged straight at the wolves and broke through, killing one as I did so. I stopped at a tree and placed my back against it. My stomach reeled at the sight of the slain wolf, but I kept my head, my life depended on it. I barely had time to think before the wolves leapt at me. I shoved my knife between the ribs of one, and sliced the neck of another. Three down, three to go.

The next three came in more carefully. One leapt at my leg, one at my arm, and one at my throat. Naturally, I blocked the one coming toward my throat and the one aiming at my arm. The one coming for my throat fell to the ground, dead.

The one on my arm was a little luckier. He sunk his teeth into my left arm before I plunged my knife into his chest. The last wolf was also the biggest. He had sunk his teeth into my right leg, deep. I cried out and swung down both knives at the wolf's head. My aim was good, and the wolf fell dead.

Suddenly, I realized that I was shaking. I wiped my blades clean and sheathed them, but I could not hold my feet. My leg and arm were in bad shape, and my head was spinning. I fell to the ground, unconscious again.

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The Witch, Justin, Ed and Ginarrbrick stared at the flowing river. Justin was just able to walk, but he was still very weak. All the snow was melting and spring was setting in, so Ginarrbrick started to take his coat off.

"It's so warm out…" He got a disapproving look from the Witch. "I'll go check the sleigh."

They all turned as the other two wolves ran up, Maugrim and the big wolf. The big one had the fox in his mouth, again.

"Majesty, we found the traitor!" Maugrim said and the big wolf dumped the fox on the ground.

The Witch smiled coldly at the fox. "Ah! Nice of you to drop in. You were so helpful to my wolves last night."

The fox bowed. "Forgive me Your Majesty."

The Witch was unimpressed. "Don't waste my time with flattery. Your friend Justin knows that it will get you no where."

The fox interrupted her. "Not to seem rude, but I wasn't actually talking to you." He looked at Edmund and Justin.

The Witch seemed a little startled, but then she pointed her wand at the fox.

"Where is Aslan?!"

The fox said nothing and the Witch raised her wand. But Ed jumped between them.

"Wait! The Beavers said something about the Stone Table and that Aslan had an army there." Justin and the fox sighed.

The Witch smiled. "Thank you Edmund. I'm glad this creature got to see some honesty… before he died!" The Witch swung her wand and touched the fox. Just as Ed's cry of 'No' came out, the fox was a stone statue.

The Witch turned and hit Ed, then put her hand on his shoulder. "Think about who's side you're on Edmund. Mine, or theirs?" She said and turned to the stone fox. Then she spoke to her wolves. "Gather the Faithful. If it's a war Aslan wants…" A butterfly was turned to stone. "it's a war he shall get."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

When I woke, I looked around. There were the wolves. My arm and leg were badly wounded. I didn't have anything to wrap them with, so I braced myself against the tree and carefully stood up. I was light headed, but I kept my feet. Slowly, I started to stumble away from the river. I only got about a mile from the river before I collapsed again. I could not go on.

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Peter, Susan, Lucy and the Beavers were running towards Aslan's camp. As they entered the camp, Susan looked at Peter.

"Why are they all staring at us?"

"Maybe they think you look funny." Lucy laughed. She had a point. There were no humans in the camp. There were plenty of Centaurs, dryads, fauns, satyrs, cheetahs, and other creatures, but no humans.

Mrs. Beaver tried to smooth her fur down, but Mr. Beaver stopped her.

"Stop your fussing. You look lovely."

When they reached the biggest tent, they stopped. A big centaur with black hair stepped forward and nodded to them. Peter drew his sword and held it up.

"We have come to see Aslan." The centaur nodded and looked at the tent. The whole assembly of creatures behind them bowed. Peter, Susan and Lucy looked around, slightly confused.

But then, a huge, golden paw stepped out of the red and gold tent, followed by a huge golden Lion. The children bowed. It was Aslan!

Then for the first time, Aslan spoke!

"Welcome Peter, Son of Adam. Welcome Susan and Lucy, Daughters of Eve. Welcome Beavers, you have my thanks. But, where are the other three?"

Peter stood up and sheathed his sword. "That's why we're here sir. We need your help."

"We had a little trouble along the way." Susan explained.

Peter bowed his head. "Our brothers have been captured by the White Witch."

Aslan looked alarmed. "Captured? How could this happen?"

Mr. Beaver stepped forward. "Their true brother, Edmund, he betrayed them, Your Majesty."

The black centaur stamped his hoof. "Then he has betrayed us all!"

Aslan cut him off. "Peace, Oreius. I'm sure there's an explanation."

"It's my fault really." Peter said. "I was too hard on him." Susan laid her hand on Peter's shoulder.

"We all were."

"And where are the other two? Justin and Mariel?" Aslan asked.

Lucy had been trying to hold back the tears, but she couldn't any longer. She fell to her knees and cried. "Mariel's probably dead by now. She was swept away by the river and she told us that we shouldn't go after her, because the sooner we got to you, the more chance that Edmund and Justin would be rescued in time."

Peter knelt beside his sister. "She's talking about Mariel, sir. Mariel told us about a dream she had about her best friend, Justin. She said that he was being tortured by the Witch and that if we didn't hurry, he would be dead."

Aslan looked sad. Lucy looked up. "Sir, we adopted him and Mariel into our family. They are our family."

Aslan smiled sadly at her. "I know, dear one. But that only makes the betrayal of your true brother all the worse… this may be harder than you think. In the mean time, Oreius, order a search party to find Mariel, and show the children and the Beavers to their tents."

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Later that day, Peter was standing on a hill that over looked the camp. On the horizon, he could see a huge castle. Aslan walked up beside him.

"That is Cair Paravel, the castle of the four thrones in one of which you will sit, Peter, as High King… you doubt the prophecy?"

"No." Peter said. "That's just it… Aslan, I'm not who you all think I am."

Aslan smiled. "Peter Pevensie, formerly of Finchley… Beaver also mention you planned on turning him into a hat."

Peter smiled.

"Peter, there is a Deep Magic more powerful than any of us that rules over Narnia. It defines right from wrong and governs all our destinies. Yours and mine."

"But I couldn't even protect my own family."

"You've brought them safely this far." Aslan said.

"Not all of them. We're missing three, one at least, badly injured, one probably dead, and the other…"

"Peter, I will do what I can to help your brother, and you adopted family. But I need you to consider what I ask of you… I too want my family safe."

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Ginarrbrick was walking around the tree that Ed and Justin were tied to. He had been ordered not to harm Edmund too badly, but he could do what he wanted to Justin… as long as he didn't kill him. The dwarf was thoroughly enjoying torturing Justin and taunting Ed.

"Is our little prince uncomfortable?" The dwarf asked the gagged Ed. "Does he want his pillow fluffed? Special treatment for the special boy! Isn't that what you wanted?"

Justin moaned. He had been beaten again, but the dwarf had not cared where he struck. Justin was covered in cuts and bruises, but at least he was alive. He had dreamed of Mariel the night before. He wished that he could be with her. He had seen her get knocked out in the river, and fight the wolves. He had woken up when she was unconscious, so he didn't even know if she was alive. He wished so bad for a rescue, so he could rescue her. But the pain continued and so did the torture.

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Lucy and Susan admired their Narnian dresses as they stood by the stream on the edge of Aslan's camp. Lucy looked at Susan's dress.

"You look like mum."

"Mum hasn't had a dress like this since before the war."

"We should bring her one back. A whole trunk full!" Lucy said happily.

"If we ever get back…" Susan said. "Sorry I'm like that. We used to have fun together, didn't we?"

Lucy nodded. "Yes, before you got boring."

Susan raised her eyebrows. "Oh really?" she reached down and splashed Lucy. That did it, it was full out water wars. When they had been soaked enough for their liking, the girls climbed back out on the bank. They grabbed their towels, but the two wolves leapt out at them. The girls screamed and backed away.

Maugrim started circling them. "Please don't run. We're tired and we'd prefer to kill you quickly."

Susan looked at the wolves, then she saw her horn and threw her towel at Maugrim.

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The next thing Peter knew, he heard Susan's horn.

"Susan!" he yelled to Aslan as he ran off. "Get back!" he yelled at the wolves as he crossed the creek.

Maugrim gave up trying to get to the girls who had climbed a tree, and started circling Peter. "Come on, we've already been through this. We both know you haven't got it in you."

Suddenly, Susan yelled to Peter. "Peter watch out!"

The other wolf had been trying to sneak behind Peter, but Aslan pinned him. Oreius ran up and pointed his sword at Maugrim, but Aslan stopped him.

"Stay your weapons. This is Peter's battle."

Maugrim laughed at Peter. "You may think you're a king, but you're going to die… like a dog!" with that he jumped on Peter. The young man fell to the ground with the wolf on top. Both were still. Susan and Lucy yelled NO! jumped down and ran to their brother. Susan pushed the dead wolf off Peter and to their delight, he sat up.

Aslan let the other wolf go, then turned to Oreius. "After him. He'll lead you to Edmund and Justin. I'll be there soon."

Peter looked at Aslan. "Peter, clean your sword."

Peter cleaned his sword on the grass and knelt in front of Aslan. The Great Lion laid his paw on Peter's shoulder and then said. "Rise, Sir Peter Wolf's-Bane, Knight of Narnia."

Peter rose and looked at Aslan, who glowed with pride over his new charge.

"Now, I have to go. Justin will be unable to ride or be carried except by me. His life depends on it. Lucy, have your cordial ready." Aslan instructed then bounded off after his soldiers.

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Oreius and his soldiers were already at the Witch's camp. They didn't even try to be quiet. They dashed in, cut Edmund's and Justin's ropes and carried them back out of the camp at top speed, leaving several dead enemy soldiers behind. Aslan met them out side the Witch's camp. He nodded to Justin.

"Put him on my Back. He has endured much in my service."

Oreius carefully placed Justin on Aslan's back then he picked up Edmund and together, they carried the former prisoners back to their camp.

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Justin woke up in a red and gold tent. He remembered nothing of the night before. As he stared up at the tent, he realized that he felt no pain. He carefully sat up, but still nothing. He could still feel things, but all pain was gone! He looked down at himself. He was shirtless, but the whip marks on his chest were closed. There were still scares, but nothing else. He looked at his right hand. There was a long jagged scare from his knuckles to his elbow, but it was closed. He reached around and felt his back. He found the same result. Also the split lip that he had received and the black eye were gone. All the wounds that he had suffered during his stay with the Witch were healed! Justin looked around and saw Aslan sitting on the other side of the tent. Quickly, Justin got out of the hammock and bowed. Aslan chuckled, then he laughed. The huge Lion stood and went over to Justin. He licked his face. Justin smiled.

"May I touch you Aslan?" He asked.

"Of course, my son." Aslan answered. Justin needed no second bidding. He threw his arms around the Lion. Aslan smiled. Then Justin pulled away.

"Did everyone make it here safely?" He asked. "I know about Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, but what about Mariel?"

"She has not yet been found." Aslan sighed. Justin stood up.

"I'm going to look for her." Aslan nodded. Justin found the Narnian clothes that had been left for him, and he put them on. As soon as he finished pulling on the boots he found, he looked to Aslan. "Will you come with me?"

The Lion smiled. "You will ride on my back. Mariel must be found soon. Her need is almost as desperate as yours was. We must hurry."

With that, they left the tent, but Justin did not ride Aslan until they reached the edge of the camp. Justin did not have the least idea where I was, but Aslan seemed to know the way. After a short time of running, Aslan stopped a few yards away from my still form. Justin leapt down and ran to me, and checked that I was still breathing. He turned me over and I opened my eyes. I smiled when I saw him.

"I knew you'd come." I said, just before I passed out again. Justin knelt beside me and cried. But Aslan had other ideas.

"Justin, get her on my back if you want her alive!"

Justin looked up and nodded. Carefully, he picked me up and sat me on the Lion's back. He climbed up behind so I wouldn't fall off. Quickly, Aslan turned and darted back to camp. On the way, Aslan had some things to say to Justin.

"You love her, don't you?"

Justin blushed and was glad that I was unconscious. "I'd rather tell her that myself."

"I understand. I believe you will have that chance." Aslan said.

"Thank you sir. I have a question. What are Mariel and I doing here?" Justin asked.

"You two are to be the guardians of the new Kings and Queens of Narnia." Aslan answered.

"Should I tell Mariel about the torture?"

"She already knows." Aslan said. "You see, you both have a special gift. When you are asleep, you see what the other one is or was doing and all the things that happened to them. So she knows about your beating, and you know what happened to her."

Justin nodded. That made since. "What will happen to us now?"

"Mariel will be healed and you both will start training. Swords for you, knives and bows and arrow for Mariel." Aslan answered. By this time, they were at the edge of the camp. Justin got down.

"Please Aslan. I'd like to carry her the rest of the way." Justin pleaded.

Aslan nodded, and Justin carefully got me off Aslan's back. Carefully, he carried me into the camp and to the tent that Aslan showed him to. The four Pevensie's were inside the tent eating breakfast. When they saw Aslan and Justin carrying me, they all jumped up. The questions pored in thick and fast, but the most common was "is she still alive?"

Finally, Lucy broke through her older siblings and opened her crystal bottle. She pored a little of the juice into my mouth then they all stood back and waited. After what must have seemed a long time to them, I opened my eyes and looked around. Justin nearly dropped me with relief. Carefully, he put me on the hammock in the corner. As I looked around, I finally saw Aslan, but to my shame, I was not yet strong enough to get up and bow to my King. Aslan's eyes told me everything. Including that He loved me. Then I looked at Justin and to my surprise, I saw almost the exact same look in his eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Justin and I stared at each other. I saw love in his eyes. Was it true? I broke the gaze and looked around at the others. Peter smiled and laughed, and soon Susan, Lucy and Edmund were laughing as well. We all laughed. The six of us were together again! And there was Aslan. How could things get better?

I looked at Lucy. She was still carrying her brother's gifts.

"Um, Lucy," I said. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Lucy looked down and saw the sword. She smiled and took the sword and broach in hand. The young girl turned to Ed and bowed.

"For you, my brother, from Father Christmas. May they serve you well."

"Well said." Aslan purred.

A few minutes later, I was able to get up and walk. The scars were still there, but there was no pain. Susan and Lucy led me to their tent, where I would be staying. Susan smiled when I saw the green and silver Narnian dress on my bed. The sisters left while I put it on. It fit perfectly. I twirled around for a few moments before strapping my weapons back on, including Justin's. I wanted to give them to him in my own way. When I left the tent, Susan and Lucy were gone, probably back to breakfast, so I went to find Justin.

I found him on the edge of the camp, sitting with his back to a tree.

"Hey." He said as I walked up. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks." I said and smiled. "How's life?"

"Not bad… now. Want to go for a walk?"

I smiled. "Sure."

As we walked, Justin sighed. "It was a day just like this when we were whisked away to Narnia. Do you remember, Mariel?"

To my dismay, I was having a hard time remembering anything. I could only remember things from when I had been in Narnia. "No, not really. I don't remember much about the world we came. Justin, what's happening? I'm scared. I can't remember anything about my life before Narnia!"

"That's happening to me too." Justin said quietly. "I can still remember that we used to know about Narnia, but now, everything is a blur. What happens next?"

"I don't know." I answered. "I do still remember bits of our conversation the day we came though."

Justin shifted nervously, so I changed the subject. "Wow, I cant see any sign that you were ever tortured. Lucy's cordial must have healed it completely."

Justin shifted again and shook his head. "Not true, Mariel. It did leave its mark. Aslan said it will be there the rest of my life."

"It can't be that bad, can it?" I asked. The only time I had ever seen it was when his back and chest were covered in blood, so I couldn't really see how bad it really was. And even that was in a dream.

Justin turned away for a moment, then he slowly pulled his tunic off. When he turned back to me, I gasped. It was much worse than I had thought it was. He must have been lashed ten or twelve times on the back, but even though he had only been hit twice on the chest, it was worse. Much worse. The two lashes had ripped much deeper than the ones on his back. Even though they were healed now, they still looked like they hurt terribly.

Justin bowed his head. "I didn't want you to see this, but I know that you already saw the really bad part."

I nodded. I couldn't imagine how he could have endured that. Then I saw his hand. A long white scare ran from the knuckles to his elbow. I took his right hand.

"How could that not hurt?" I asked.

"I don't know." Justin answered softly. "I can still remember what it felt like though."

I nodded. "I can still feel the wolves biting me."

Justin laid a hand on my shoulder. "I wish it had been me instead of you."

I shook my head. "No, you've gone through enough already. I don't need to add my pain to yours. By the way, you were not forgotten by Father Christmas." He looked at me, slightly puzzled, so I unstrapped the swords and knelt before him. "I have no doubt that Aslan will knight you for your service to him, but you'll need a sword to be knighted. And so, here are two." I presented the swords to him.

Justin took them reverently, strapped them to his waist and drew them. I watched from bended knee as he twirled them. There was no joy on his face, only pride to own such weapons. Justin sheathed them and looked down at me. He shook his head and raised me to my feet.

"You need bow to no one." He said. He took my right hand in his and to my surprise, he kissed it. His kindness was not lost on account of his scared body. His tunic still lay on the ground where he had thrown it in anger. But now, the scars seemed to make him even more worthy of being the guardian of the Pevensies. He had earned his stripes, literally. I smiled, and he smiled back. Suddenly, he pulled me to him and he hugged me.

"I missed you so much." He said.

"No more than I missed you." I answered. "I don't think that anyone could miss someone more than I missed you. Thank you for coming for me. I would have died if not for you."

"You were worth every second of the search. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, even if it took me one hundred years." Justin replied, and still he hugged me. "Mariel, do you like me?"

I pulled away. "What do you mean? Of course I like you. You are my best friend, and now, my hero."

Justin looked happy about that, but I knew he could be a lot happier.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Did I say the wrong thing?"

"No." He said quietly. "It's fine. We'd better be heading back. They'll wonder where we are." Justin picked up his tunic and shrugged back into it before turning slowly and walking back to camp.

I walked with him but his mood never improved. Finally, I could bear it no longer.

"Justin, what is it?" I asked, concerned. "I've never seen you like this. Suddenly you're paying me complements and saying things that don't make since. And why were you sad when I said you were my hero and best friend?"

Justin turned to look at me. I was surprised at how sad he looked. As he gazed at me, a tear rolled down his cheek. I reached up to brush it away, but Justin must have realized that he was crying because he turned and darted off into the forest. I started after him for a few steps, but then I stopped. What had I done? What ever it was, it must have been my fault. I had never seen him like that before, I had never seen him cry.

I fell to my knees and wept. I was alone in the woods and my best friend had run from me for reasons unknown to me. What was I to do? I couldn't go back to camp and tell the Pevensies what had happened. It would probably get out and I would have to explain it to everyone, and I didn't even know what was going on. All I knew was that Justin wasn't talking to me.

As I knelt in the forest and sobbed, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned quickly, expecting an enemy, but to my surprise, Peter stood there. I turned away, not wanting him to see my tears, but it was too late. Peter was kneeling by my side in an instant. I turned my face away, but Peter gently turned it back to face him.

"What's wrong, Mariel?" he asked.

"I don't know." I said through my tears. "I don't understand what's going on."

"Then why are you crying?" He asked.

"Because Justin is acting like I hurt him terribly, and I don't know what I did and he won't tell me." I answered, trying to get the tears under control.

Peter's look told me that he was totally confused.

"You know that Justin rescued me right? Well we went for a walk together. I thanked him for rescuing me and told him how much I had missed him, he is my best friend after all. But when he asked me if I liked him, I told him that, yes I liked him, he was my best friend, and he was my hero. But he wasn't happy with that, in fact, he looked like I have stabbed him in the back! When I asked him what was wrong, he ran off into the woods. What did I do wrong, Peter? What could I have done that hurt him so badly?"

Peter thought about this for a while. "I have no idea, Mariel. It doesn't make any since to me, but if you would like, I'll try to find him and figure out what's wrong."

I nodded gratefully. "Thank you, but please don't tell the others. I'd rather not have to answer a bunch of questions that I don't know the answer to."

He nodded, helped me up, then took off in the direction that Justin had gone.

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Justin sat on a fallen tree crying when Peter found him. Peter walked quietly up and laid his hand on Justin's shoulder. Justin twisted around like lighting. When he saw it was Peter, he relaxed.

"Do you need something?" Justin asked as casually as possible.

Peter shook his head in wonder. "I just came from talking to a sobbing Mariel, that's all."

Justin got up in alarm. "Did something happen? What's wrong?"

"You are the problem! What's going on? Mariel's under the impression that she did something to make you terribly mad at her, and now you aren't talking to her. She wants to know what's going on, but you won't tell her."

"That's what she said?" Justin asked.

"That's what she said." Answered Peter.

Justin sank back down onto the tree and hung his head in his hands. Peter sat down beside him.

"So are you going to tell me what's going on?" He asked. "What's wrong?"

Justin shook his head. "You wouldn't understand."

"Well maybe I would. Now try me!" Peter was getting exasperated.

Justin jumped up and faced Peter. "Fine! I love her! Does that explain everything?"

Peter blinked in amazement. "Oh. I guess it does."

"How am I supposed to tell her that? It's not like I've ever done it before!" Justin asked.

Peter shook his head. "I don't know. It seems to me like you had a perfect moment and you just missed it."

"But I don't know if she loves me." Justin argued. "I don't want to make a fool out of myself. She's always said that I'm her best friend, and that's how she treats me. She's never expressed anything more than friendship."

"But if you never tell her, then you'll never know." Peter said. "I think you should ask Aslan how to tell her. But till then, please don't get her crying on my shoulder again! It's hard enough to deal with you, much less a sobbing young lady."

Justin nodded. "I suppose I should apologize."

Peter nodded. "Good thought. Let's go back and I'll help you find her."

"Thank you, Peter, but no. I need to do this alone." Justin said and headed back toward camp.

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I was on my hammock, still crying a little, but better than before. Susan and Lucy were somewhere off with Ed, so I had the whole tent to myself. I was trying to gather my thoughts when I heard a knock on the tent door.

"Come in." I said and wiped my face clean. To my surprise, Justin walked in. He walked over and sat next to me.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I suppose I wasn't making much since."

"I forgive you, but what did I do? Did I say something wrong?" I asked.

"No, it wasn't you. But let's not talk about it; I need to talk to Aslan first."

"Oh." I said.

"Are you hungry?" Justin asked.

"Actually, yes."

"Then let's join the others for a late breakfast/ lunch." Justin smiled and offered me his arm. I smiled and took it.

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We all sat around a short, round table and the three of us who hadn't eaten in a while, (Me Justin and Ed) had the meal. Lucy looked at us and laughed.

"Narnia's not going to run out of toast, guys."

Peter nodded. "I'm sure they'll pack some up for the journey back."

Susan looked at him puzzled. "We're going back?"

"You three are. I can't tell Justin and Mariel what to do. I promised Mum I'd keep you three safe. But that doesn't mean I can't stay and help."

Lucy objected. "But, they need us… all six of us."

Peter shook his head. "Lucy, it's too dangerous. You almost drowned, Edmund, Justin and Mariel were almost killed!"

"Which is why we have to stay." Ed said out of the blue. "I've seen what the White Witch can do… and I've helped her do it." Justin shifted uncomfortably. "And we can't leave these people behind to suffer for it!"

Justin and I nodded, then Susan and I got up at the same time.

"Where are you going?" Justin asked.

Susan and I picked up our bows and arrows. "To get in some practice." I smiled and the girls and I headed for the archery ranges. Justin smiled at Peter and Ed.

"Should we humor them?" He asked.

"Sure, why not." Peter laughed.

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Susan, Lucy and I stood at the line for the targets. Susan drew her bow back first. She carefully aimed and then fired. She wasn't far off the center of the target, but then, that was very good for the first time she'd ever fired a bow. Next it was Lucy's turn. She giggled uncontrollably as she aimed her knife at the target. To her delight, it hit dead center. Then they both turned to me. I carefully strung my long bow, placed an arrow on the string and aimed. But then a thought hit me and I slackened the string. Susan and Lucy looked at me, slightly confused.

"Where would you like me to hit?" I asked. "If the target is a clock, what time would you like me to hit and in which circle?" The sisters looked at each other. Susan shrugged but Lucy's face brightened.

"Eight o'clock, circle right outside the middle. Near the outside edge."

I nodded and drew my bow back to its full length. I aimed carefully down the shaft for a split second before I fired. Susan's jaw dropped which sharply contrasted with Lucy's squeals of delight. It was truly a comical sight. I had hit dead center on the point that Lucy had wanted.

Suddenly, we heard the gallop of horses behind us. I turned and fit an arrow to the string out of instinct, but it was not necessary. Peter and Ed rode ahead of Justin on and threw a few blocks, parries and thrusts from their horses. Ed rode a brown stallion while Peter rode bareback on a white unicorn named Flisk. Justin took his time, letting the others warm up a little. We had both practiced swordsmanship and archery back home, wherever that was, and he didn't want to spoil their fun.

Peter shouted directions to Ed as he brought his sword down on top of his brother's head.

"Come on! En guard! Keep your sword up like Oreius showed us! Now block!"

Justin decided that it was time to make his entrance. He let the reigns of his jet black horse fall and kicked the stallion into a run. He kept his seat with his knees as he whipped out his two swords. Peter and Ed turned to face him. Justin passed right between the two, and as he did, he blocked both of their swings at once. He turned and faced the brothers again, but this time, when Peter struck, he disarmed my friend and Justin let out a yell before he fell off his horse.

I ran for him, calling Lucy to come with me as I ran. When I reached him, Justin was writhing on the ground. Peter and Ed were kneeling next to him, trying to calm him down. I dropped my bow and knelt beside him. I held his shoulders down as Peter began feeling for any broken bones.

"What's wrong Justin?" I asked. "What happened?"

He continued to writhe, but Peter soon found the problem because he followed the blood. He carefully rolled up Marin's sleeves and I gasped in terror. The jagged cut from his knuckles to his elbow was wide open and pouring blood. The other hand was nearly cut off, a gift from Ginarrbrick I was sure. Lucy arrived and poured a drop of the cordial into Justin's mouth. He stopped writhing, but as soon as the pain was gone and the cuts and breaks were healed, he fainted from loss of blood. I set his head on my lap as I looked at Ed.

"I knew about his right arm, but what happened to his left?"

"I don't know, Mariel. I wasn't near him for much of my stay with the Witch. But I did hear a lot of screaming and painful yells from the direction they took him. When he returned, he always look worse than the time before. "

"This isn't my fault is it?" Asked Peter. "I mean, I'm the one who disarmed him. But I didn't think I touched him."

"I don't think so, Peter." Ed said. "This has to be some trick of the Witch."

I nodded. "I think he also went through a lot more than he dared tell us. Even you, Ed, and you were there."

Peter sighed. "We'd better get him back to Aslan. Who knows what else he didn't tell us." Peter said as he helped me lift Justin back on his stallion, Thunder. I grabbed my bow and climbed up behind him since I had also taken riding lessons back home. Susan rode with Peter and Lucy climbed on with Ed. But just as we were ready to go, Mr. Beaver came running up, which made Edmund's horse rear.

"Whoa horsey!" Ed called.

The horse settled back on the ground then turned to look at Ed.

"My name is Philip."

"Oh, sorry." Edmund said before Mr. Beaver delivered his message.

"You six better come quick! The Witch has demanded a meeting with Aslan. She's on her way there!"

I looked at Peter and the others. "We'd better get moving if we are to get Justin help before she arrives."

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When we arrived back at the tents, Justin was still unconscious. We galloped to Aslan and the four siblings leapt off their steeds while I awaited help for Justin. Aslan jumped down the rock formation he was sitting on and ran to us.

"What happened?" He asked.

"We're not sure." I answered. "He, Peter and Ed were practicing their swordsmanship and suddenly Justin yelled and fell off Thunder. When we reached him, the wound in his arm was open and bleeding and his left wrist was nearly cut off. I think he'd been hiding that from us. I noticed that when he got back, he always wore a leather bracelet over that spot."

Peter carried Justin inside Aslan's tent while Ed sent the horses back to the stables. When everyone was inside, Aslan breathed on Justin to revive him. He woke trembling. Aslan touched his forehead with His tongue and my friend relaxed.

"Justin," The Lion said softly. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure." Justin said shakily.

"Where else were you tortured?" Aslan asked.

"I'm not sure of that either." Justin answered unhappily. "Most of it happened when I was out cold." He looked at Susan, Lucy and I and then at the tent flap. Aslan took the hint.

"Ladies, would you please leave us? I will call you back in when you are needed."

Susan and Lucy nodded and stepped outside, but I remained. "Please Justin, let me stay." I asked.

"Mariel, please, I don't want you to see this." Justin said and turned his head away.

"Very well, I'll be right outside if you need me." I said, sniffed and walked out. I glanced back as I left and I saw Justin shrugging out of his tunic, just before the tent flap cut me off from my best friend.

I was true to my word. I sat right out side the tent, waiting for my name to be called. I could only guess what Justin was telling them but I had a feeling what ever it was, it was really bad.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Inside the tent, Justin was telling almost all of the horror story that he could remember. He knew that most, if not all of the creatures in the camp had taken a swing at him with some sort of weapon or claw. It had been Ginarrbrick that had nearly cut his hand off. He had been tortured every couple hours when he was in the Witch's camp. It became a daily routine; every two hours, he would be taken away for torture for about an hour and a half before he was returned to Ed to rest for a half an hour before they started the process again. They also had their torture routine down. First he would be whipped spread eagled, faced up and down. Then even if he wasn't conscious when they finished with that, they'd pick random places and simply rip them open with a knife. The only rule that the Witch had for torturing him was that Justin was not to be killed. That was the only precaution that they took while they did whatever they wanted to him. Justin normally passed out during the cutting section, but he always suspected that they did much more to him than he wanted to know. He would wake up with scars (always bandaged to make sure that he lived) in places that he didn't remember getting hurt in. Justin said all that he could remember, trying to get it out of his system.

When he finished, Aslan leaned over him so the now 17 year old could hug him. Justin buried his head into the Lion's mane, letting the tears flow. When he released Aslan, the Lion stepped back and looked at him.

"Justin, you have been through much for my sake. But your suffering is not over. The Witch has done a little of this to my subjects before and she has not changed her technique. While you were unconscious, one of her creatures took invisible iron shards and put them into your wounds, so that whenever you moved that part of your body wrong, they would open again. This was insurance so that if you were ever rescued, you would never be able to fight her."

"Is there any way to get rid of these shards of iron?" Justin asked hopefully.

Aslan nodded. "There is one way. Your wounds must be opened again and the dryads must take out the iron. Only they can see the iron. But since we don't know how many of your wounds they put these in, we will have to open them all, and you have already lost too much blood."

"But I must fight in the battle, Aslan! I must go through with the operation, if only to fight for you." Justin said as he tried to sit up, but he was too weak.

"My son, you will loose too much blood. You will die. You must have more blood before you can survive an operation of this magnitude." Aslan said as he pushed Justin back down on the hammock.

"And there is no one with the same blood type as I have, right?" Justin asked.

"There are only six humans in Narnia, including you. The chance would be very slim. Besides, you need more blood than any one of them could give even if they had your blood type."

"I will not ask so much of my friends." Justin said as he reached for his tunic. "You can bring the girls back in if you wish."

Peter left the tent to go look for his sisters and I. I heard his exit and leapt up to get the news.

"He said that you can go back in now." I nodded my thanks and ran into the tent.

"I just need to know three things." I said as I ran in. "Are you okay, how bad is it, and can we do anything about it?"

Justin looked at Aslan to answer. The Great Lion told me what he had told Justin, but He said nothing about the form of torture that my friend had received. He only said that it was much worse that we had originally thought.

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked.

"Not unless you have the same blood type as Justin." Aslan said.

"Is there anyway to find out?" I asked

"Yes." Aslan said. "I can tell."

"What do I have to do? I'll do it." I said.

"We must wait until after I have spoken with the Witch." Aslan said. "She should be here any moment. Can you walk, Justin?"

"I don't know." Justin said as he tried to stand. "I can stand, but walking might be a challenge."

Peter had returned by now with his sisters. He looked at me and nodded. "We'll help you walk out there." He said. "Lean on Mariel and I."

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The six of us stood in the crowd near the front as the Witch walked up to a perfectly calm Aslan. He flicked his tail as she stood before him.

"You have traitors in your midst, Aslan." She said coolly.

"His offence was not against you." Aslan answered.

"You speak of one traitor, but I said that you have two in your midst." The Witch retorted.

"The other of which you speak is innocent." Aslan said.

The Witch did not reply to this, instead she questioned Him. "Have you forgotten the laws upon which Narnia was built?"

Aslan stood up and growled out, "Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch! I was there when it was written."

The Witch smiled. "Then you'll remember well that every traitor belongs to me… Their blood is my property."

Peter and I drew our blades. "Try and take them then. You've already taken enough of their blood." Peter said for both of us. But Justin put his hand on mine and lowered my weapons.

The Witch laughed. "Do you think that mere force can deny me my right, little king? Aslan knows that unless I have blood as the law demands, all of Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water. Those boys will die on the Stone Table… as is tradition." She turned to Aslan. "You dare not refuse me."

Aslan growled. "Why do you keep claiming someone who is not yours? Justin is innocent."

"He came with the other to help him. He could have stopped Edmund, but he didn't. He helped the other betray you." The Witch accused.

"I came with Edmund to protect him!" Justin shouted. "I didn't try to stop him because I knew I couldn't."

"And why could you not?" The Witch asked. "You are six years older than he. Why could you not have stopped him?"

"I knew then, I don't know now." Justin sighed.

"He proves my point!" exclaimed the Witch. "He is as guilty as the other."

"Enough!" Aslan nearly roared. "I shall talk with you alone."

The Witch smiled as if she knew she had won and followed the Great Lion into his tent.

Peter and I helped Justin sit down. The other humans joined us on the ground. Justin and Ed hung their heads.

"I really put my foot in it, didn't I?" Justin asked.

"You could say that," Edmund said. "But at least you know you're innocent. I know that I'm not. Aslan will have to give me back."

Susan and Lucy hugged Ed and Peter stroked his sword hilt.

"They'll have trouble getting you back, Ed." Peter said defiantly. "I'll make sure of that."

"As will I." I said. "She'll never get you or Justin when Peter and I are around." I drew one of my knives and tossed it. Justin caught it as it came down and stuck it back in my sheath.

"No." He said. "Don't you see? You can't kill her with normal weapons. Ed and I know this. We've been with her for long enough to know that none of you could truly hurt her. She is to powerful."

"Aslan is more powerful that the Witch." Lucy suggested. "He could kill her."

"I'm sure He will, Lucy." Edmund said. "It's when and where that matter."

After a few more minutes, the Witch came out of the tent followed by Aslan. She walked back to the bier that she had been carried on. As she walked past, she gave Ed and Justin an icy look, but kept moving.

We all looked to Aslan. He stayed silent for a moment, then… "She has renounced her claim on the sons of Adam's blood."

We cheered and Peter, Susan, Lucy and I mobbed the other two. But the Witch had one more thing to say.

"How do I know this promise will be kept?"

Aslan roared until the hills echoed around us. The Witch abruptly sat down on her chair and her guard carried her out of the camp. As she left, everyone cheered, laughed and danced for joy. But Aslan did not laugh. Instead, he hung his head. I noticed and his eyes caught mine for a moment before he disappeared into his tent. I looked at Justin and saw that he had caught the look as well. We continued celebrating, but the joy seemed to seep out of us as we thought of the look the Lion had given us; it had been a painfully sad look.

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Justin and I stood in the tent with Aslan. He sniffed our hands. The blood was closest to the surface there. He stepped back and nodded.

"You have the same blood type, but you cannot give as much as he needs, Mariel."

I sighed. "I will give what I can then."

Suddenly, Peter, Ed, Susan and Lucy burst into the tent. "Sorry for interrupting." Peter said. "But we have a solution. We four have the same blood type, so if we have the same as Justin, we can help then none of us will have to give as much."

Aslan nodded. "That is true. Let me see your hand, Peter." After examining it for a moment, Aslan nodded. "It is the same."

We all sighed in relief. "When do we begin?" I asked.

"As soon as you are ready." Aslan said. "I will summon the dryads and they will perform the operation. But when ever you decide to do it, it must be done soon if Justin is to go into battle. The Witch will be ready to attack in four days."

"What are we waiting for then?" Peter asked. "I'm ready now." The rest of us nodded. We would do this together, and we would do this now.

Justin smiled at us. "Thank you, friends, brothers, and sisters."

Aslan nodded. "I will call the dryads then.

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Two hours later, the Pevensies and I woke up. Narnia did not have the technology that the world we came from had, so it had taken much longer than it would have in our world. The dryads had revived us with Lucy's cordial, but Justin was still in the operation in a different tent. We sat for a while and talked, since it wouldn't be safe to stand up quickly after loosing that much blood.

A few hours later, Justin was back with us and awake. After having a little of Lucy's cordial, he felt good as new. I smiled at his enthusiasm to practice with his swords. Since the rest of us were still a little weak, we watched at Justin practiced. At first, he was cautious, still afraid that the dryads may have missed some of the iron, but gradually, he became more confident and soon, his swords were practically a blur to watch.

I smiled, tossed my knife up and caught it. I felt my strength return as I toyed with my gifts. After a moment, I got up and faced Justin. He didn't even stop. He tossed one of his swords to me and I tossed one of my knives to him. We had done this many times before. Quickly, we blocked, thrust, parried, swung, and chopped. Our blades moved like lighting. We knew exactly what we were doing. We had practiced hundreds, no thousands of times when we were in the other world. The sound of clashing swords drew Aslan and Oreius into the tent at a run. When they saw what we were doing they sat back and watched. Oreius almost looked pleased. Finally, Justin disarmed me, sending my two blades straight into the ground at our feet. His sword flicked up to my throat and the fight was over. I smiled at him.

"You haven't lost your touch." I said, breathing harder than usual. We were used to this sort of thing.

"Neither have you." He answered.

Oreius raised his eyebrows as Justin stuck his blades into the ground beside mine and we bowed to each other with our right hands over our hearts; the signal that our fight was over. The big centaur nodded and looked at Aslan. The Lion nodded in agreement to the unspoken request. A small smile formed on the giant centaur's lips. He motioned to us as we sheathed our weapons.

"Justin and Mariel, come forward."

We looked at each other then stepped forward.

Aslan nodded to us. "Kneel." We knelt before him, Justin with his sword, Freedom, and me with my knife, Love held over my heart, point down. The Lion then laid his paw on Justin's shoulder and then the heavy paw was transferred to my shoulder. Then the Lion said, "Rise Sir Justin Lighting Strike, and rise Siv1 Mariel Blade Flash."

Justin and I looked at each other. We had no idea that we would be knighted for a simple exercise in swordplay. But then Aslan explained.

"We have need of knights that can lead in the battle. You both will be together during the battle, since it seems that you fight best with each other."

"But Aslan, it was just a simple exercise in swordplay." I said. "We haven't done anything worthy of being knighted."

"You forget your slaughter of the wolves in the forest, Siv Mariel, and your bravery during your time with the Witch Sir Justin." Oreius said. "You have more than enough reasons to be knighted. Your skills with your blades just gave another reason for it."

Justin and I bowed to our superiors. "I am glad you are pleased." Justin said for both of us. "May we serve Narnia in whatever way that we are needed."

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It was dark, it must have been near midnight and still I could not sleep. I had noticed that Lucy was tossing and turning as well. It had been three days since Justin's recovery and our knighting. Aslan had said then that in four days the Witch would strike. Tomorrow was that day. She would be ready tomorrow. We were to be ready to depart for Beruna one hour before dawn on the morrow.

But that wasn't the reason I couldn't sleep, I could feel it. Something else was happening, and I didn't know what. Suddenly I realized that there was a huge shadow passing our tent. It was a Lion's shadow. It had to be Aslan. Where was he going? I looked over at Lucy, she had seen it too. We both moved quickly, waking Susan and grabbing our weapons, shoes and cloaks as we crept out the tent flap.

We watched for a second as Aslan disappeared into the woods, then we donned our cloaks, shoes and weapons and took off after him as quietly as possible. We followed him, creeping from tree to tree until Lucy stepped on a twig and it snapped so loudly that we jumped. Aslan stopped but didn't turn around.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" He asked.

"We couldn't sleep." Lucy said.

"Please, Aslan," I asked. "Couldn't we come with you?"

Aslan nodded. "I would be glad of the company tonight. Thank you."

We came up beside him and buried our hands in His mane. After we had walked for a while, Aslan stopped and looked at us.

"It is time. From here, I must go on alone. You have to trust me, for this must be done."

"Oh Aslan," I cried and buried my face in His mane. "I know what you're going to do, and I know why. Thank you for saving them, my King."

"Yes, my child, you remember what is going to happen. I let you remember this once so you would not panic. Thank you, Susan. Thank you, Lucy. Thank you Siv Mariel Blade Flash. And farewell."

As my King walked through the woods and away from us, I felt compelled to follow him and follow his example, but I knew that Susan and Lucy had no idea of what was about to happen, and I knew they would need me. I took their hands and fled into the woods still in the direction that Aslan was going, but a little to the left. When we arrived, we hid behind a fallen tree and gapped in horrid fascination at the scene at hand.

There were hundreds of evil creatures surrounding the Stone Table holding torches, stamping and growling their fearsome war cries. At their center, the Witch stood on the Stone Table itself, holding a stone knife, and watched as Aslan climbed the long stair up to her. He stopped a few feet from the table, while every one of the creatures taunted him to no end. The Witch spoke above the clamor.

"Behold, the great lion."

The crowd erupted again. The General Otmin poked Aslan with the tip of his axe, but the Lion growled and the Minator backed off. He looked to the Witch and she nodded. Suddenly, the General turned and knocked Aslan onto his side. He didn't struggle, he simply lay there as the crowd taunted him.

Lucy looked at me. "Why doesn't He fight back?"

"Because he is doing this for Ed and Justin." I explained. "If he turned back now, they would be at the mercy of the Witch."

The Witch neither smiled, nor frowned. Instead there was this intense look of coldblooded victory in her face.

"Bind him!" she yelled. The creatures bound Aslan and started dragging Him to the Stone Table, but the Witch stopped them. "Wait, let him first be shaved!" 

Susan and Lucy looked at each other, horrified at what they were seeing. Ginarrbrick pulled out his knife and sliced off some of Aslan's beautiful mane. He waved it around as a trophy then the rest of the crowd joined in the mass shave. When they were finished, Aslan's beautiful mane was gone.

The Witch called again. "Bring him to me."

The creatures drug Aslan to the Stone Table and up the stairs, not caring that they banged His head several times along the way. The Witch knelt beside Aslan and ran her hand over his golden fur.

"You know, Aslan, I'm a little disappointed in you. Did you honestly think by all this that you could save the human traitor? You are giving me your life and saving no one's. Ha. So much for love." She stood up and spoke to the crowd. "Tonight, the Deep Magic will be appeased! But tomorrow… we will take Narnia… forever!"

The crowed cheered even louder. I looked straight at Aslan. He saw me and locked my gaze. "Peace, Aslan," I thought. "It will soon be over. Peace, we are here for you."

Aslan seemed to understand for He calmed a little. I was glad that I could comfort The One who had comforted me so often.

"In that knowledge…" The Witch continued raising the knife, "Despair… and DIE!" she plunged the stone knife into Aslan's heart. Lucy gasped, Aslan growled in pain then slowly his eyes rolled up in his head and closed. The Witch left the knife in Aslan as she spread her hands wide to the crowd. "The great cat… is DEAD!!" The army's thundering reply nearly deafened us. "General, prepare your troops for battle. However short it may be."

The General let out a huge bellow that set off the army. They howled as they charged down the other side of the hill towards Beruna.

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Later when we were sure that all the enemy was gone, we ran up the steps to the table. I watched as Susan and Lucy cried and leaned on the huge Lion. I could not bring myself to believe that he was dead because of Justin. Justin was no traitor. He would have stopped Ed, but he knew he could not prevent what was going to happen. Why? My memory began to return. I knew this story. Justin knew what happened in the story then and he knew that if he stopped something from happening, he would change the entire history of the story. It was not his fault. Now I could cry. I ran to Aslan and sobbed. He was gone.

Lucy unscrewed the lid of her cordial but Susan stopped her.

"It's too late, He's gone."

"He knew what He was doing." I assured them. But I could not keep the tears back.

Suddenly, Susan looked up. There were mice crawling all over Aslan's body. Susan couldn't stand mice so she tried to shoo them away but Lucy stopped her.

"No, look." The mice were chewing away at the cords. Soon, all the cords were gone.

I looked up at the girls. "We have to tell the others."

Lucy objected. "But we can't just leave him!"

"Lucy, there's no time." Susan said. "They need to know."

I thought about this for a moment. Then looked at Lucy. "Send word through the trees."

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A few moments later, Justin sat straight up in his hammock. He had been dreaming about my actions and of course, he saw the sacrifice of Aslan. He shook Ed awake, but only called to Peter from the other side of the room. He had learned quickly that Peter did not wake well. On hearing Justin's voice, Peter grabbed his sword and drew it all in one motion. This had become his habit ever since he had learned to use his sword. When he realized that the coast was clear, he looked at Justin, wondering why the 17 year old had woken him.

"Peter, something's wrong." Justin said simply. "I'm not sure what, but could one of you check the girl's tent? I'm afraid that something has happened."

Peter was immediately out of the tent and running for ours. Ed was right on his tail and since he didn't really want to be left behind in a dark tent, Justin followed. Peter burst into our tent, but we, of course, weren't there. He turned and looked at Justin, puzzled. Justin lit a candle and looked around the room. On my bed, I had left a note for him. He picked it up, read it, and then read it again, this time aloud to the others.

"Justin, remember Aslan's eyes the day the Witch came. We've followed Him. Don't worry, we'll be fine. We'll try to make it back before the battle, but if not, you can know for certain that we are with Aslan. Please, stay alive. Keep the others safe. By His Love, Mariel."

Justin folded the note and put it in his belt pouch. He heard Peter's sword ring and spun around. A woman stood there, totally made out of leaves and petals; a dryad. Her voice was like the wind when she spoke.

"Be still my princes. I bring grave news from your sisters."

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When Justin heard the news, he ran out of the tent and into the woods. He fell to his knees and wept. Aslan was gone. He would not be there for the battle, and he knew that I would not be there either. Everything was falling apart. He was about to go into one of the biggest battles of his life and his two best friends would not be there with him.

When Justin returned to camp, the dawn was approaching. Peter, Edmund and Oreius stood outside Aslan's tent studding a map of Beruna. Peter was shaking his head.

"She's right," Peter said. "He's gone."

Ed looked up. "Then you'll have to lead us." Peter shook his head again. "Peter, there's a whole army out there and it's ready to follow you."

Peter looked at his brother. "I can't."

"Aslan believed you could." Justin said as he walked up. "And so do I."

Oreius stepped up. "The Witch's army is nearing, sire. What are your orders?"

Peter looked down at the map. Then up at Justin. "Can you send Mariel's and my sister's horses to the Stone Table? I don't want them on foot if there should be trouble. They're talking horses, so they know the way."

Justin nodded and left the pavilion. He set off at a run toward the stables where our horses were housed. When he arrived, he called to our mares.

"Aria, Swiftfoot, Summer! I need you. Thunder, you too." The four horses trotted out of their stables. Justin turned to Thunder, his horse, first. "Friend, I need you, Philip and Flisk to prepare for battle and be ready soon. We'll wait for you outside Aslan's tent." Then he turned to our horses. "You three, prepare to ride hard. I will help saddle you if you'll bring your gear to me. Lucy's horse, Swiftfoot, a palomino, returned the quickest. Justin saddled her and then a chestnut mare named Summer, Susan's horse.

Finally, my horse, Aria came back. She had a note in her teeth that I had given her. She handed it to Justin and he read it while he saddled the silver mare. I had written it to him the day before and asked Aria to deliver it the next time she saw Justin.

"Dear Justin,

I think something is going to happen soon, and I don't mean the battle. If I'm not there, then please stay safe for my sake. Remember that you are my best friend and I would do anything to be with you, but if something happens and I'm not, then stay safe and I'll make it there as soon as I can. Please, please be alive when I get there!! By His Love, Mariel."

Justin tucked the note into his leather tunic and finished saddling Aria. As he did, he explained to my horse what he wanted her to do.

"Aria, I need you to take Swiftfoot and Summer and go to the Stone Table. Mariel, Susan and Lucy should be there. If you can, stay with them and bring them back here. If Mariel insists on coming to the battle, tell her that we will be on the near side of Beruna. Do you understand?"

"Yes, guardian." Aria answered. All the creatures of Narnia had begun to call Justin and I "guardian" instead of our real names. "Do you have any messages for her?"

Justin thought of this for a moment, then pulled a piece of paper out of his belt pouch and started writing. He stuck the note in Aria's saddlebag and sent her and the others off toward the Stone Table. As soon as they were gone, Thunder, Flisk and Philip came around the corner followed by the dwarves that carried their gear. Flisk had no saddle or bridal, being a unicorn, and so he went straight to Peter. Philip was ready in a few moments, thanks to the fast working dwarves, and soon he was off as well. But Thunder stuck around until Justin was ready to go. Justin swung himself into the saddle and Thunder trotted out of the stables toward Justin's tent. Thunder seemed a little sad as they went so Justin bent close to the horse's ear.

"What's wrong Thunder?"

"You could tell?" The black stallion asked. "All right then, it's Aria."

Justin smiled. "Falling for the beauty of the stables, eh?"

Thunder was astonished. "But how did you know?"

"Because I'm falling for her rider!" Justin answered.

Thunder chuckled. "Wow, I guess that between us, beast and man are not much different in that point."

"No, not at all, my friend." Justin answered.

Once Justin had reached his tent, he got down off Thunder and went in to find that Peter and Ed were already preparing for war, and Justin joined in. Once they were all decked out in armor and the red tunics with the symbol of the golden Lion on the front, they returned to their steeds. Justin gave Peter a leg up, since Flisk had no saddle, and then the three of them were off on their horses, leading an army for Beruna

1 Siv- the feminine prefix for the name of a knight in place of sir.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Peter sat on Flisk on the top of a small mound in front of the Narnian lines. Oreius stood on his left, and Justin sat on Thunder to his right. Peter turned and looked up at the cliff behind him where Ed stood with Philip by his side "in case of emergency" as the good horse had put it. Peter chuckled at the thought. What was Philip thinking? This WAS an emergency. But Peter was grateful all the same for the horse's loyalty to his brother.

Peter turned back to the situation at had as the Gryphon scout came soaring back over the golden field of Beruna. The Gryphon landed between Peter and Justin to make his report.

"They come, your highness, in numbers and weapons far greater than our own."

Oreius stepped in. "Numbers do not win a battle."

"No." Peter agreed. "But I bet they help."

Justin nodded. The odds were not the best at present. He was almost glad that I was not there since there would be more chance of my injury or even death.

Peter and Justin looked at each other and smiled grimly as the Witch's army came over the hill on the far side of the field. Peter turned and looked at Ed who gave him a reassuring nod. Then he looked to Justin who set his jaw and put his hands on his sword hilts. Peter drew his sword, Rhindon and held it up in challenge at the Witch's army. The entire Narnian army broke out into cheers for their leader. They watched as the Witch's army charged across the huge field. Still Peter held his sword in defiance. Finally and to everyone's relief, he let his sword drop to his side.

Above their heads, the Gryphons flew toward the enemy. As they flew over the Witch's army, the Gryphons dropped boulders onto the confused army of horror. Then to the Narnian's dismay, the dwarf archers running toward them started firing their arrows at the Gryphons, taking down more than a few. The Gryphons returned to the Narnian lines and the enemy continued to pound across the field.

Peter looked at Justin and Oreius. "Are you with me?"

"To the death." Oreius and Justin said simultaneously.

Peter turned back to the battle. Holding up his sword, he yelled for all to hear. "For Narnia!! And For ASLAN!!" Flisk reared and then took off over the hillock that they had been standing on and fairly flew across the field with Oreius, Justin and Thunder close behind them. The Narnian army gave their battle cry and charged across the field to meet their enemy.

Time shifted into slow motion as the two armies came closer together. Peter's arm went up and he clapped down his visor. Justin followed suit before he and Oreius drew their double swords at the same time. Justin thought of me. Had I gotten his note yet? Would he ever see me again? Would he die in this battle before he ever had the chance to tell me how he really felt? No! He was determined not to die. He remembered Aslan, suffering for Ed. This fight was for Aslan and me. He would win a victory for us to enjoy forever, if only Aslan was still alive. The armies crashed together and chaos ensued.

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It was nearly dawn when we woke up. I looked around at the surrounding countryside and sighed. Justin would be up by now.

"Come," I said. "We should go."

Lucy came and cuddled next to me. "I'm so cold."

Susan came and put her arm around Lucy and the three of us walked down the stairs. But before we were more than three stairs down, we heard a huge crack and a boom that threw us to the ground. When we turned around, we saw that the Stone Table was cracked and Aslan was gone.

"What have they done?" Susan asked.

We looked passed the table and through the standing stone door as the sun rose, and to our delight, as the sun came streaming through the giant stone door, Aslan came leaping up to stand triumphant in the door way as well!

"ASLAN!!" We all cried. Susan ran to the Left, Lucy to the right and I went straight over the Stone Table to hug Him. He laughed as we buried our faces in his glorious mane. Susan drew back.

"But we saw the knife… The Witch."

Aslan shook His head. "If the Witch knew the true meaning of sacrifice, she might have interpreted the Deep magic differently. That if a willing victim who has committed no treachery is killed in a traitors stead, the Stone Table would crack and even death itself would turn backwards."

"We send word that you were dead." I said. "Peter, Justin and Edmund will have gone to war."

Lucy drew her dagger. "We have to help them."

Aslan placed His paw on her hand and lowered the dagger just as the horses came charging up to the Stone Table. They whined and neighed for joy to see Aslan alive and well. They bowed before him before running to us.

Aria spoke for them. "Peter and Justin sent us. We were told to make sure that you were safe from any attack from the enemy and to take you back to the battle or the camp, whichever you desired. But since our Lord is here, he shall give us orders that please him."

Aslan nodded in thanks to the horses. "Thank you, my friends. Susan and Lucy are coming with me, but Mariel may go where she will. She can take care of herself."

I bowed to my master. "Thank you sir. may I ask where you are going before I make my decision?"

"Of course. We are going to the Witch's castle to gain a whole new army."

"Then if it's okay with you, Aslan, I'd like to join Justin and Peter in the battle. That is where I'm needed most." I said.

Aslan nodded as I swung into Aria's saddle. "Mariel," He said as I started off. "Thank you for the comfort last night." I smiled at Him.

"I told you it would be over soon. And now, here you are, back with us again." I said and took the bridal off of Aria. "I fight for you, My King!" I said as I rode off towards Beruna.

Aslan looked after me as I rode. Suddenly He leapt after me to the gateway above the Stone Table. He threw his head back and roared to our victory. I turned and looked back at the proud sight. I drew my dagger and held it up in salute before turning and riding off into the sunrise.

Aslan turned to Susan and Lucy and said. "Climb on my back. We have far to go and little time to get there." Then he turned to the horses. "Thank you for your service, my friends. You may go where you will. I will see you shortly."

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I galloped across the hills and through the woods toward Beruna. I hoped that I would make it on time. I let Aria stop for a breather by a small stream for a few minutes. As she stood and breathed she thought of Justin's note.

"Guardian! I forgot. Justin left a not for you in my right saddlebag."

I nearly jumped out of the saddle with excitement, but instead, I reached behind me and searched the saddlebag from atop the saddle. When I found it, I opened it quickly. My hands trembled as I read.

"Dear Mariel.

You are the sunshine in my life. I wish that I had told you earlier, and if I survive this battle, then I will be sure to tell you what I have been longing to say for as long as I have known you. But for now, be safe for my sake. I would love to have you by my side in this battle, but honestly, it's far too dangerous. If I survive, I will meet you on the cliffs above the field. By His Love, Justin."

I nearly fell off of Aria as I finished the letter, but I managed to keep my seat. I realized that I was not wearing my armor as I stuffed the note in my belt pouch, but it did not matter. Justin was in danger. I was going to the battle!

"On Aria! We have a battle to catch and win for Justin and for Aslan!"

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Peter and Justin had been separated during the fighting, and Justin was desperately trying to get back to his ward. To his horror, the Witch started her chariot toward the battle lines.

On the top of the cliffs, Mr. Beaver looked to Edmund. "She's moving, get ready!"

A female centaur picked her arrow and waited.

"Fire!" Edmund said.

She dipped the arrow into the fire before drawing it back and letting it fly. In response to the signal, a Phoenix burst into flames and flew across the field, separating the Narnian troupes from the Witch's. Peter raised his visor as Justin pulled up on Thunder beside him. Justin and Peter looked at each other. They had stopped the advance of the Witch… or so they thought.

The Witch's chariot didn't even slow down as she approached the fire. She simply raised her wand and the fire parted for her like a blue sheet of ice. Peter and Justin turned and started their steeds back toward the cliffs calling, "Fall back! Draw them to the rocks!" a horn rang out and Beaver pulled Ed and the rest of the archers back to the designated ambush spot.

Peter and Justin were the last up into the gorge where the ambush was planned. As they raced up the hill, Ginarrbrick fired at Flisk and missed, but the Unicorn stumbled from trying to dodge the near miss. He fell heavily to the ground and Peter went with him. Flisk had a hard time trying to get up and the Witch's army was getting closer by the second. Oreius and Justin turned to see where Peter was and to their horror, they saw that Peter was directly in the path of the charging army. Justin flicked his two swords and a rhino joined them. Together, Oreius, Justin and the rhino charged down the gorge, trying to defend their prince. As they flew past, Peter yelled.

"Stop!" But they just kept charging. The rhino went down, but Justin and Oreius kept charging. General Otmin jumped onto Oreius's back but as Oreius charged, he brought his double swords down into the Minator's back. The huge beast fell heavily to the ground. Oreius drew another sword and they kept charging. Their strategy was working, most of the army that had passed them was turning to follow them back the way the came. Suddenly, they were on the Witch. Oreius missed on his first leap, but on the second, the Witch spun her wand and Oreius was a statue.

Then the Witch turned on Justin. "Came back so I could finish you off, eh?" She asked.

"I have a promise to keep." Justin said as he swung his swords. The Witch blocked and nearly caught him with her wand but Justin was quick. He dodged aside and galloped back to Peter. Flisk had just regained his feet and Peter was having trouble getting back up. As he passed, Justin grabbed Peter by the back of his tunic and launched him onto Flisk's back. Peter nodded in appreciation as he regained his seat. Together, they took off up the hill where the rest of the army waited.

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I raced across the field of Beruna. To my dismay, I found that I was too late. The Witch's army had blocked the Narnian's up in the gorge. The only way to get to them was to ride right through the Witch's army. I halted Aria for a moment.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked.

"If you're thinking that we're going to run straight through that army with knives and everything else flailing then oh yeah, I'm thinking what you're thinking!" I said as I drew my knives. Aria reared and took off.

"Then let's go!"

We were silent as we raced across the field. If the dwarf archers saw us, we were dead meat… literally. Just before we reached the enemy lines, the few Narnian archers that were still on the cliffs saw us. Apparently, they spread the word and a plan among themselves to help me since they started shooting a path for me from the edge of the lines to the forefront of the battle. I raised my blade to them in thanks. As I broke through to the Narnian lines, I saw Justin and Peter fighting back to back, on foot. Thunder and Flisk were fighting with horn and hooves a little farther away. I raced up beside Peter and Justin.

"Howdy, boys. Need some help?" I asked and smiled. I jumped off Aria and she took off to fight with Flisk and Thunder.

"You came." Justin said in wonder as we exchanged left handed swords for knives. Now we both had a sword in the right hand and a knife in the other. We stood in a triangle facing out like a whirlwind of death to all who came.

"I couldn't resist." I answered.

Peter watched as the enemy smashed through several soldiers before Peter realized that we were loosing. He chopped a Minator in half and yelled to Edmund.

"Ed! There are too many of them! Get out of here! Get the girls, and get them home!"

Ed stopped and listened to his brother before Mr. Beaver pulled him away from the battle. But then he saw the Witch turn a Satyr into stone before turning and walking toward Peter. Ed turned and started back.

"What are you doing?" Mr. Beaver asked. "Peter said get out of here!"

Ed drew his sword. "Peter's not king yet." He raced down the hill toward the Witch. He jumped, swung and missed. She tried to stab him with her wand, but he dodged and brought his sword down hard on her mighty object of power. It shattered with a blue flame. Ed stood looking at her, slightly in shock, but before he could move, the Witch disarmed him and stabbed him in the stomach with the remains of her wand.

Ed fell to the ground as Peter yelled. "EDMUND!!"

The Witch tossed her broken wand aside and grabbed Ed's sword. She flicked aside a Satyr and waited for Peter.

Peter didn't take long. In his furry, he ran the enemy he was facing through and took off toward the Witch yelling in fury as he went. Justin and I watched him go in horrid fascination.

"He'll die!" I said. That was all Justin needed to hear. We dashed after the infuriated Peter. He reached the Witch before we did, but that didn't matter. Peter was good and he now knew what he was doing. He dodged and parried as much as he smashed his sword down or thrust. Moments later, Justin and I were beside him, ready for anything. The Witch paused.

"Three against one? What happened to your since of fair play, human?"

"As I recall, Witch," I retorted, "It was three thousand against one when Justin was in your camp. Three thousand against him!"

We wasted no more time on argument. The Witch was duel handed, but so were Justin and I. It was five blades against two. Suddenly, she caught me off my guard and a long, deep cut appeared from my shoulder to elbow. I fell to the ground in pain, unable to move my arm. Justin immediately stood over me and tried to fight off the Witch's blows. Peter almost got his throat cut once, and Justin's knee got nicked, but after all, we were still amateurs compared to an evil woman that had practiced her moves for decades beyond count. A halt in the fight came when we heard a mighty roar from the top of a high outcrop. We all looked up and to our amazement, there stood Aslan.

"Impossible!" The Witch exclaimed.

Susan, Lucy and Mr. Tumnus were right behind him as well as a whole army of freed creatures. They charged down into the gorge, tearing the Witch's army to pieces. But the Witch was not totally shaken by the sight of her nemesis. She quickly turned and caught Justin and Peter off guard. She tripped Peter and stabbed her sword into his arm, pinning him to the ground. For Justin, she did the same. She grabbed Justin's swords and was about to turn us into mince meat when a growl caught her attention. She looked up just in time to see Aslan with claws out stretched, leaping for her. Justin's swords were knocked out of her grasp as the Lion landed on her. They stared at each other for a second before Aslan finished her off.

Peter and Justin managed to pull the swords out of their arms and stand up as Aslan turned around.

"It is finished." He said simply.

Justin and Peter nodded. Justin dropped back to my side. I could not move my right arm at all. I think the Witch's sword had severed a tendon or something of that nature. Susan and Lucy came running up to tackle Peter. When they saw me on the ground, Lucy's cordial suddenly came out of its holder. She quickly pored a drop into my mouth before standing back up. My arm healed quickly and I stood up, sheathing my blades.

"Thank you." I said. "Once again, I owe you my life."

Susan looked concerned. "Where's Edmund?"

We looked back to where Ed was laying on the grass and were startled to see Ginarrbrick with his axe raised over Edmund. Quickly, I pulled out my bow and an arrow. I don't even think I aimed. I just fired. The dwarf was knocked backward, the arrow through his heart.

We all ran to Ed and once again, out came the cordial. One drop and Ed went still. Lucy started crying. But soon, Ed coughed and sat up. Peter gave him a bear hug. When he let his brother go, Peter asked.

"When are you ever going to do as you're told?"

Ed laughed. It was infectious. We piled on top of each other in one giant group hug.

Aslan walked to a Satyr and gently breathed on him. A few seconds later, the Satyr was alive again. Lucy picked up her cordial and looked around. She ignored Ginarrbrick and fairly flew to the nearest Narnian. Thus began her long work of healing.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Justin and I walked down the center isle of the great hall of Cair Paravel together. We were dressed almost totally in green and silver. When we reached the four thrones, we split and stood on either side of the thrones. We watched proudly as the Pevensies walked down the isle with Aslan between them. When they reached their thrones, they turned and faced the gathered crowed of Narnians. Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers came forward bearing the crowns between them. As Aslan said each name, Tumnus took that person's crown and set it gently on their head.

"To the glistening eastern sea, I give you Queen Lucy the Valiant. To the great western woods, King Edmund the Just. To the radiant southern sun, Queen Susan the Gentle. And to the clear northern skies, King Peter the Magnificent. Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen. May your wisdom grace us until the stars come raining down from the heavens."

When Aslan finished his speech, the entire assembly burst into cheers. Justin and I smiled as one by one, the Pevencies were cheered by their new subjects. But the ceremony was not over. Aslan silenced the crowd with a shake of his mane.

"Guardians of Narnia, come forth." Justin and I stepped forward. "Son of Adam, Daughter of Eve; protect the four who defeat the deceived. You will stay or leave at will, but only after your duty is fulfilled. Will you stay, or will you return to your own homes?" Justin and I looked at each other. There was no doubt to our decision.

"We stay to serve you." Justin spoke for both of us. Aslan smiled and nudged Justin with His nose. Justin took the hint. It was his turn to make a speech, but this one was on one knee.

"Mariel, I have loved you for as long as I can remember. It was the reason for my strange behavior over the past couple of weeks, and now the reason that I ask you to marry me."

With that, Justin pulled out a silver ring with an emerald set into the top. On the inside, our names were engraved. I smiled through tears of joy.

"Justin, I would love nothing better, because I love you too."

The joy on Justin's face seemed to shine out. Gently, he took my left hand and slipped the ring on my third finger. The crowd cheered, and only then did I realize that we were standing in front of a huge assembly with Aslan and the new kings and queens behind us.

Once again, Aslan shook his mane and the crowd fell silent. "Brothers and sisters of Narnia, I present to you, the new guardians of Narnia, and now the first couple to be united under the reign of the four thrones. Kneel, Justin and Mariel."

Together, we knelt before the Great Lion. Slowly, he placed his paw on our shoulders. "Will you, Justin, take Mariel to be your wife?"

"Yes, I do." Justin said proudly.

"And will you, Mariel, take Justin to be your husband?"

"Yes I do." I answered happily.

"Then I pronounce you man and wife. May your union never end, for when it does, the end of Narnia and the world shall come. You have chosen to stay and be the guardians of this land. And so you will guard it, but not for one life time only, but for centauries beyond count, until I bring this world to an end."

When he had finished, two dryads came forward with two circlets of silver and emeralds that twined like leaves and vines, and they placed them on our heads.

"And to the end of the world, I present Justin and Mariel, the Brave and Loyal." Aslan finished.

This time the crowd truly erupted into cheers. Justin and I rose and looked at each other.

"I will love you forever, Mariel, since it seems that is exactly how much time we will have." Justin said as he took both my hands in his.

"I'm glad. Because I can't imagine not loving you forever." I said and smiled.

Justin did not reply, he simply took me in his arms and kissed me.


	14. Chapter 14

Epilogue

Epilogue

Justin and I sat in the shade of the castle walls. We wore green Narnian clothes and brown cloaks. My long bow and knives were still strapped to my back and waist. Justin's swords were likewise ready for use. We were always on the look out for trouble in our country. But some times it could not be avoided. The Telermans had come and now, Narnia was oppressed by the usurper, king Miraz. Fortunately, the true future king, prince Caspian, had escaped the castle and was now awaiting help in Aslan's how. And that was why we were back in the ruins of Cair Paravel. Though the prince did not know about us, we knew that he would use Queen Susan's horn to summon help. Who that help would be, we did not know. But from our past experience, we knew that help would come only to Cair Paravel.

I looked at Justin. "What do you think, my love? Is this the beginning of a whole new adventure in Narnia?"

"It's Narnia, Mariel my dearest. Of course it will be an adventure, a Narnian adventure, Siv Mariel Blade Flash."

"Yes, Justin, and that means and adventure like no other." I hugged him, feeling the scars on his back from so many years ago. The scars would not fade and so he wore them as a badge of honor for the name The Lion had given him. Sir Justin Lighting Strike.

Justin smiled. "And whatever happens, my love, we know that The Lion will be with us."

And so began a new tale that must be told at a later time, for it happened when Prince Caspian lived, and that my friend, was also long after the first adventure.

The End


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